The Biggest Treasure
by Elenhin
Summary: This is a sequel to my 'Who Did You Say Stole the Declaration. Where Ian finds the biggest treasure of all during a tresure hunt, as well as friendship.
1. Is it Silver or Gold?

Author's note: This is based on the movie National Treasure, and is to a great deal dedicated to the more than worthy performance of Sean Bean. I enjoyed the movie very much, but I thought that since Ben and Ian often used similar methods to reach the same goal, I did not see one of them as more evil than the other. I also thought that the hints of the friendship we saw between them should be explored more. I began doing that in 'Who Did You Say Stole the Declaration,' this story takes up a short time after that one ended, and is my version of what happened next. I hope you all shall like it.

Big thanks to LadyDeb1970 who have been going over this for me, and helped me with plot and story ideas. Also to Celebrion for being my beta.

Disclaimer: I do not own National Treasure. I just borrowed it because I like Sean Bean as an actor. I will return all characters in good and whole order, completely undamaged, if covered with a slight glue residue from having been put together again. I also swear I will not make any serious attempt at stealing Ian. More than I already have that is…

The name of Thomas McDowell have been stolen from LadyDeb1970, with her kind permission, as well as one or two other details.

/Elenhin

* * *

**_The Biggest Treasure_**

**_Is it silver or gold?_**

1

Ian looked around himself in the museum. He supposed that he had done well in an odd way. Mayhap he did not earn too much money, in fact he was paid a rather low salary as he was not considered to credible. That did not matter though as he was well set financially since before. There was no need for Ian to really work to earn a living, it had been years since he was dependant on work to get food, no Ian needed to work for very different reasons, he needed to feel that he was doing something, no matter what it was he was doing.

Working in a museum as it was, was still far better than prison. At least he was not a janitor to clean up after the school visits, and nor was he really a tour guide. Granted, he had been the guide on a vast number of tours, but only on the special tours, not on any of the school fieldtrips.

Ian's knowledge about the relics was valuable, he had a vast knowledge of history, and he was also very intelligent. In short he easily made an asset for any museum that appreciated him.

He had already detected a scam where some phoney had tried to sell false artefacts to the museum. It had not been hard, rather too easy. The loser had not known the first things about pulling off a scam.

Ian had heard him speak and had blown his story to pieces then and there.

The board had been grateful, very grateful indeed, but they really did not care much for Ian.

They took him on Ben's word, but they were not fond of it, nor of Ian. They took Ian because Ben had asked them too, and everyone was now fawning over Ben, and they would do anything for his gratitude, including having Ian there.

They paid him the minimum wage they could get away with and Ian, since he did not need the money at all, did not complain. He was grateful to Ben in a way, because Ben was willing to take the trouble to convince people to take him. Even if they did not do so willingly and rather mistrusted him.

At least since he detected the scam they did not watch everything he did. He was allowed some freedom now, such as walking around there on his own without a guard following his heels.

Ian had also improved the security a great deal. He had pointed out a few weak points, and they had now been taken care of. It was amazing really the kind of things that they had missed when they had installed the alarms and such. Ian could have gone in and out with no trouble at all.

Someone very skilled could still get in now, but it was much harder to do so. The amateurs would get caught, and it was not really possible to stop the elite.

"_We have an excellent alarm." The head of the board had claimed stubbornly._

"_Sir, anyone who is skilled and confident enough to target a museum does not have to worry about an alarm." Ian had pointed out. "Amateurs does not target a place like this, and even if they are bold enough to do it, they get caught even before they set off the alarm. Now the big ones are the ones that have resources, those are the ones that you really need to worry about, and those are the ones that your alarm won't stop."_

"_What do you suggest that we do then?" They had asked him. _

So he had dealt with it, he had gone over their security inch by inch and scrutinized every detail, and he had improved it greatly for a very low cost. No one had mentioned how it came that he knew to recognize all the weaknesses and how they could be used. Instead they had accepted that he had that knowledge and had acted upon it, again because of Ben.

It was interesting really, how Ben became the great hero in shining armour and he the villain all dressed in the black of sin, so easily. Ben had after all used him for some of the more criminal acts. That was the difference between them, the main difference. Ian always did everything that needed to be done himself, or he did not do it. Ben could see using someone else to accomplish what he could not.

As things stood now Ian was in a no man's land. He was used, but not fully trusted. If something went wrong he would be blamed and arrested within seconds.

He was aware of that, even if they claimed that they trusted him when they spoke with him. Ian knew all about trust.

These people did not trust him, but they fawned over Ben, and they were willing to put up with Ian in the hopes of gaining Ben's favour.

He straightened his coat, then stuffed his hands into his pockets, undoing the straightening. He was waiting for a group to show up, a group of rich snobs that had donated money to the museum.

The board would never stop so low as to be playing tour guides, and these people were too important for the regular guides.

That meant that they fell to Ian to deal with, and they were late. It was twenty-nine minutes past appointed time already.

He was quite positive that none of them would be willing to apologise for it. They never felt the need to be even the slightest polite to a minion, and even less should they discover who he was. No, they were all secure in their belief that they were richer and more important than him, and that apparently gave them the right to treat him however they wanted. In truth he doubted that any given one of them was really more wealthy than him, though it was possible that one or two of them had once lost some wealth that had somehow wound up in Ian's possession, quite possible indeed.

Finally they came, all of them looking very important. Men in fancy and expensive looking suits, and women in blouse and skirts, wearing pearls and sparkling gems, that spoke of more money than taste.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, most welcome. "He greeted them.

To Ian's great surprise one of the women stepped forward. She was more tastefully dressed than the others. Her only visible jewellery was a small blue stone in a silver necklace. It was in fact quite tasteful and went in fact well with her eyes.

"I am sorry that we are late. I am afraid that we were not as good at finding our way here as we had believed we would be."

"Well, since you are all here now, shall we begin the tour?" He smiled at her, it was one of them who had thought to apologise. That was more than he had expected, a lot more.

The woman who had apologised also actually paid attention to what he said during the tour. She even appeared interested and asked questions every now and again. Every time there was something she wanted to know more about.

Ian rather liked that, other times he gave the memorised speech that they wanted, they wanted to hear as little as possible, but for once he was allowed to draw upon his deeper knowledge.

Then they came to the rooms that held the treasure of the Freemasons. He had never seen the magnificence of the whole treasure. When they moved it all out he had been in custody. He had in fact not seen much more than what this museum had. Ben had shown him a few certain things, but Ben seemed to think that he would rather not hear about it. Not so, Ian was very interested in the treasure.

He had heard of it before, he had studied the Freemasons, he had not gone after the treasure because of the money, but because of what treasure it was. It was the biggest treasure that had ever been heard of, and it fascinated Ian, and he had studied it. Ian had just never had the fortune of getting that first clue, and that was the reason he had never been able to go after it before he met Ben, and that was the reason he did not back off when they needed the Declaration of Independence.

Now he told them of how Ben Gates had searched for the treasure, and how he had also found it. He left out the parts where Ben had broken the law though, the board did not like any mentioning that suggested Ben had ever done anything illegal in his search for the treasure.

"Was there not a second party involved?" One man asked. "One that tried to steal it and murder Gates."

"Gate's group split into two groups due to a disagreement." Ian explained, unwilling to go into details.

"And the leader of that other group sought to murder Gates." The man pressed on.

"Not to murder Gates. To find the treasure before him certainly, but never to murder Gates." Ian said, it was easy to control his temper under the accusation that he should have sought to slay Gates, he had had a lot of practise doing it. The words did not even hurt as much anymore, but it was very wearing to always hear them. Why was it so easy for them to believe him capable of such an act, and yet so hard for them to listen. No matter what he said they held firm to their belief that he had tried to shoot Gates in cold blood, was it not obvious that he had not since he would never have escaped prison if he had done that?

At the end of the tour Ian rubbed a tired hand over his eyes. They were all like that. So fast to judge him, and so fast to forgive Ben for the same deed.

"A very interesting tour Mr. Howe, my compliments to you as the guide."

He spun around to see the woman who had apologised for them being late. She was standing there and smiling at him.

Then he realised the significance of the fact that she knew his name. She knew that he had been the leader of that 'second group.'

"I am glad that you think so, for I fear that the others were less impressed." He would make no comment about it. He would see if she was willing to make her knowledge plain, and what she would do with it. What her intentions were, for why would she come up to him like this and declare that she knew who he was unless she wanted to get somewhere with it?

"They are only ever impressed by themselves." She chuckled. "Pay no heed to the fools. I for one was very impressed, you truly know what you speak of."

"A guide who did not know what he spoke of would be a very poor guide now, don't you think?" Ian said dryly.

"You seem to resent me Mr Howe." She noted.

"No, I don't resent you." He said more politely. What else could he say?

"Given their kind words I would not blame you." She said with the hint of a smile, and with a glint of understanding in her eyes.

"Them, I do resent." He admitted grudgingly. "It seems that I shall always be known as the villain." He shrugged as if he could convince himself that it did not matter.

"It is easy to cast a mark on people you do not know." She agreed. "Yet I do not think that you are a villain Mr Howe."

"Then you certainly are the only one. Have you never heard what the evil Mr Howe did to the poor Ben Gates?" He could not keep the sarcasm fully out of his voice.

"I do not think that Ben Gates would have you here if he truly believed you were evil." She stated. "Still I must say that I do not understand why you do this. Why do you put up with those arrogant bastards?"

"I am the villain mainly because Ben Gates succeeded and I did not." He sighed. "Yet he was willing to give me a second chance. The way I see it I owe him to do my best. It can not have been easy to get a museum to put me here, to convince them to hire me. Oh, they are all too happy to do whatever Mr Gates might happen to request. But they also hold him responsible for me."

She nodded thoughtfully. It seemed wrong to her. Gates should not put him somewhere where he was so obviously scorned and mocked.

"You are a very interesting man Mr Howe." She said with a smile. "Would you do me the honour of allowing me to buy you a drink."

He regarded her suspiciously. Why would she want to do that? What was it she wanted from him? Also, why did she use one of the oldest clichés in the books for it.

"I would want to speak with you." She said with a smile. "I would like to learn more about the artefacts here. What else you told me would be your choice, but buying you a drink would only be fair, and the least I could do after those arrogant bastards there."

"I am used to their kind." He stated. "Though I think that maybe I should accept your offer." He wanted to get to know her better. Learn why she had approached him, there really had to be something more to it than she had shown this far.

"Then there is something that we both agree on." She smiled. "When are you free to go?"

"After work would be the most reasonable." He stated. "I can meet you after I am finished here." That would give her a chance to regret her decision and clear off. He rather supposed that she would regret it and not come.

"Good, I will come by here, what time?"

She seemed determined enough though, Ian was not really used to women like that. They were most often like Abigail.

Abigail were nice enough to him he supposed, she was actually quite civilised with him, as long as he knew that Ben was so much better than him. If he should forget that, then Abigail would be sure to remind him.

"About six should do." He said, had he just agreed to go on a date or something?

No, surely not, and she would not show up for that matter, this was polite talk, and she would change her mind after the first good looking guy she saw pass on the street.

When she had gone Ian went back to the artefacts in the museum, he enjoyed the relics, they were a palpable piece of history. Like the old castle he had played in when he was a child. Hunting dragons in the cellar, and how many times had he not searched for hidden treasures there? Allowed to stay with an older relative until she died. It had been one of the best times of his life as the old woman had enjoyed having an lively and enthusiastic child around.

Once he had been on a treasure hunt there, he had packed food and a sleeping bag and had searched in the light of an electric torch. He had slept in an old wine cellar, and it had been one of the greatest adventures of his life.

The castle stood empty now as it did not really have an owner. It had been left in a will, to Ian, but only if he could supply the answer to a riddle, and thus far Ian had not been able to do that. He had however paid the lawyers a sum of money to ensure that it did not fall into neglect. That castle had meant too much to him for that.

He guessed that the main reason Abigail disliked him to some extent was that she could not understand him. She could not understand why anyone as smart as Ian would ever turn to criminality when he could have earned just as much in legal business. One did not need to steal to make a lot of money and Abigail thought he should have been concentrating on other businesses.

What Abigail did not understand was that Ian had not started with any money at all in reality. He had been at the fork in the road where there were the choice of social assistance, going to some social worker every day to beg for food, and that was not tempting to him. Then there had been the choice of bending the rules and that was what he had done.

Ian had not been doing hold ups or shop lifting, no, he had pulled of grander schemes from the start. He had used his intellect and he had been good at it.

Abigail thought that he was a mere petty thief, and she judged him by that. It would be interesting to see what would happen if she realised that his name was not in full truth Howe. He had a family name that he could claim by right, and that name would hold more meaning to Abigail than Gates had.

Abigail had demanded to know if the Gates family were the lunatics with the conspiracy theory, well, his name was more well known and for better reasons, no shame on it ever, but he did not want to draw that kind of attention to himself. No one thought very much on the name of Howe, and he liked it that way.

Shaw had been one of the few people who knew his full and real name, and Shaw had never told anyone else, and now Shaw was gone.

Shaw had meant a lot to him, they had been very close. Shaw had relied on Ian and looked up to him, and in Shaw Ian had found the support that he sometimes needed. Shaw was one who always believed in Ian, and because of that he had died. Since Shaw had been lost Ian had not taken up the contact with his old gang anymore.

He did not want to see the blame in their eyes for Shaw's death when they looked at him, and he did not want to be the death of any more of them. So he had made sure that they got out of jail okay, made sure they were set for life, and then avoided them.

It had not been all that hard, not many knew where he was now.

Later Ian went outside, not because he believed that she would come, but because he wanted to prove to himself that she would not. He wanted to prove to himself that she would not bother to keep her promise to a criminal, and yet there she was, already waiting.

"Surprised I showed up?" She asked, and she would have had to read his mind, for he did not let his surprise show. He was much too skilled for that.

"Not for showing up in itself." He said, for he already knew she was a woman who stood for her words. "But surprised that you would think me worth showing up for. You have not yet told me your name, and yet here you are to meet with me."

"My name is Charlotte." She grinned. "And I think that you are a very interesting man Mr Howe. I think that you might have been treated unjustly as it seems to me that neither of you did anything that was worse than what the other did. I find you intriguing, and I do not blame you if you would rather not deal with it for it, but I have offered you a drink and you have accepted. So let us leave of the discussion until then."

She had a very interesting style he thought. She was very straight forward, very blunt in an amusing way.

"You might as well lay of the Mr Howe then, I am Ian." He stated. "And being the man I think that it should be me buying the drinks."

He studied her out of the corner of his eye to see her reaction to that.

"The first one is to make up for those arrogant asses." She stated firmly. "So that one I will be buying, should you care enough to remain and listen after that first one you may do as you please."

Ian nodded thoughtfully, he had rather taken a fancy to her. It was very easy to appreciate her and the way she regarded him. She would have to say something very bad for him to flee after the first drink.

So he allowed her to buy him an ale, he really did not feel comfortable with a woman buying him a drink, but he supposed that this was a time where he could make an exception. It was not normal circumstances as she was certainly not a normal woman.

She had ordered some pink concoction for herself, a drink called the Pink Panther, and despite the colour it did not look too bad.

"So, I shall ask you again. Why do you put up with those morons, please do not tell me that you do not have a choice. You must have a choice." She said almost pleadingly.

"I do and I do not." He said. "I could turn my back on it, I do not need the museum any more than they need me, but I need to know that Ben does not regret what he did. I enjoy being near history, and I could not have done that in prison, not like I do know."

"So you do it out of a sense of gratitude." Charlotte noted. "You are indeed a remarkable man Ian, for no mere thief would have that honour. It seems to me that you are unfairly treated."

"Who shall be the judge of that?" Ian snorted. "All I ever hear is how Ben showed too much mercy. He is the knight in shining armour who found the greatest treasure in the world. There are no one who will care a wit about me compared to that, except for those who think I should be locked into a prison cell, and that the key should be thrown away."

She laughed at this, laughed merrily. "Ah, but the world is full of ignorant fools. They read in the papers that Ian Howe was the criminal, and so they believed it. I however try not to judge before I have met someone."

"A very wise rule." Ian nodded as he sipped his ale. "Difficult though as you can not always meet everyone." He decided to take a chance. "Mind telling me how you even knew that it was me? There have to be more people by the name of Howe, and not even one of those other jerks even bothered to find out my name."

"A fair question." She nodded and stirred her drink with the straw in it. "And one you are wise to ask." She pondered her words a moment before speaking. "All of them think that they are very important because they own a lot of money. They also want every one to know that they have a lot of money. Therefore they donate to museums to get their name on a shiny brass plate, because they are pompous enough to think that everyone who goes to the museum will ogle that brass plate and think that they are so wealthy, and so generous."

Ian nodded, he was well familiar with that.

"My father taught archaeology at a university, and was very interested in antique relics. He is also fairly wealthy. He donates money because he wants more ancient relics to be available for the public instead of being bought up by collectors. Rich bastards that does not care about the piece but only wants to brag about how much they cost. My father is also very well thought of in certain archaeologists associations, and therefore was invited to a very fancy dinner where Ben Gates made appearance. My father took me along and thus I have met Gates, without being overly impressed I might add." She said the last part with a smile.

"I did some research on the whole thing, and decided that I wanted to meet you as well. When my father received the invitation here I convinced him to let me go in his stead. And here I am, does that answer your question?"

Ian ignored his ale on the table, this was a very interesting woman, secure and confident, and a bit wild, and yet she appeared to think things over before she acted.

"It answers my question very well." He agreed. "Shall you ask yours now?" He added to tease her, because he knew there was more she wanted to learn from him.

"I am afraid that one question would not be enough. I want to understand you, and there is not one single question who can cover something so big."

Ian tilted his head to the side and raised his eyebrows while he smiled, slightly challenging and cocky, and yet he knew it gave him a teasing look.

"Actually there is one question that would give you that understanding if it was given the right answer." He teased her.

"And what would that be?"

Oh, she knew how to play the same game he was playing, she crossed her arms over her chest threateningly, and that grin was a pure challenge over who could do worst.

He took a long draught of his ale, just to stall and to tease her into becoming impatient, and she was, he could tell that she was, even if she did not let it show. Deciding on mercy he put down his now near empty glass.

"May I see you again?" He said. "If answered with a yes it would allow you to get to know me more." He leaned forward slightly. "There shall be two alternative answers, yes and no, which do you think I will give you if you were to ask that question?"

"You would say yes." Charlotte decided confidently.

"How can you be so certain?" He challenged, oh, but it was so fun to bait her a little.

"First of all you showed up, which means that you want to learn more about me, secondly, you would not have dared me to ask it had you not wanted an yes. " She gave him a Han Solo lopsided grin, were women supposed to do that?

"I could have, but I did not. Your victory Charlotte." He grinned, then he drained the last in his glass. "You said that after the first drink it was up to me, so I shall just assume that you want another one of the same kind."

She smiled and handed him her glass.

When he returned she sat with her elbows on the table, she had folded her hands beneath her chin and was giving him a puppy love expression. The fray of her brown hair was just spilling down on her forehead and hiding her eyebrows. Making her blue eyes sparkle in a light shadow.

"You have already gotten me interested, and indeed my answer is yes." He grinned. "And I would ask you that you did not go to such trouble to bait your snare."

"Why, is it something that is not becoming for a woman?" She sat up straight and her hands came down on the table, the edge in her voice was enough to make most men reconsider what they had just been foolish enough to say.

"No, but I fear that you would put poor Cupid out of work if you were to do it too often." He gave her the most innocent look he could pull of, and Ian was not bad at that.

She laughed and at the same time gave him another puppy love look.

Ian raised his glass. "To poor little Cupid who now needs to find himself a new profession."

It was a delightful thing to speak like this to a woman. To be allowed to use all his wit and not need fearing to insult her. Oh, Ian could be refined, Abigail did not believe it of him, but Ian knew to mind his manners. He could be far more well mannered than Ben, he could carry himself better than most of Abigail's fancy acquaintances.

He could fool the rich snobs that he was one of them, and he could lighten their wallets while doing so. Ian also knew how to appear as ill bred as Abigail believed him to be, but this was far better. A woman who could take a joke, Ben did not know what he was missing.

"You are a smooth talker if there ever was one." She touched the brim of her glass to his. "Any other talent I should know about?"

"Probably, and since I have given the answer of yes I suppose that you shall get to know them." He said.

"It is a shame then that I have not yet asked the question." She winked at him.

Ian ran a hand through his hair. She was something special, she certainly was.

"I'll drop by and pick you up some day." She said in farewell.

"You are not giving me the chance to do the same then?" He asked teasingly.

"If I were I would have given you my address." She quipped back, he had known she would come with some quip. "Since I have not you shall just have to wait."

He rose and extended his hand to her before she left. "It was a true pleasure." He said.

"The same, I will drop by some day." She smiled and shook his hand, then she left and Ian headed back to the apartment where he lived. It was nothing fancy, he had not bothered about that this time. He had moved from his other place because of the museum, and Ian had never bothered to get anything to fancy. Expensive apartments and too much furniture was just too much of a bother when you had to relocate quickly, old habits died hard.

Even when Ian was only involved in legal business he still lived by the old rules. Should he want to lie low at some point, disappear for some reason he could grab one bag and be gone, that was all he needed. He could do without the rest.

His apartment was also rather bare for much the same reason, oh, he had furniture, and comfortable furniture at that, but why bother with paintings and such for the walls? To take some of the bareness away from the walls he had stuck some posters on them. Not the kind of posters that one would expect from him.

There was the wrinkled and a little torn actual size copy of the Declaration of Independence, the one Ben had bought and then tricked him with, it was not there as a reminder that he had been tricked, it was there because it might as well.

It had been lying in the van in a crumbled ball when they cleared out everything out, making sure that nothing could be traced back to them. He had taken it because that was something that could not be allowed to remain there, and then he had pinned it on the wall.

Then there was the Donald Duck family tree poster, the kind of poster that you sometimes got if you bought the comic book.

It was amusing to see how far back the McDuck family went. Not many families could claim that kind of history. Ian also rather liked Uncle Scrooge, he was a much deeper character than most people thought, greedy and shrewd certainly, but there was also the part of him that had memories connected to every penny in his bin, and that memory was worth more to him than the money value, and that was something Ian could understand.

Every single penny represented a victory he had won.

Then there was the X-men poster for no other reason than that it was a cool movie.

He considered getting something more serious to hang on the wall as well. It would be worth it to have a Michelangelo painting next to the Duck family tree, if ever he let anyone in into his apartment something like that would drive most people insane.

Not many understood that a Michelangelo painting was worth so much money merely because some pompous art expert said it was. There was the value because it was old, but it was not so old as to be priceless.

Ian however was not one to complain, he had made good money because of what those so called experts thought something was worth.

You could make a lot of money when you dealt with art, because there was always someone who was fool enough to pay up the sum for it.

So yes, he was considering putting something there that would rock them around.

Maybe something of those things that looked like the masters, that was certainly just as good but that was considered worthless because no art expert had yet said it was worth a fortune.

Tricking those experts was a lot of fun, but often too easy, they were so caught up in appearing important that you could easily fool them just by playing along.

The guy who had tried to pull of the scam at the museum had counted on them wanting to appear too important to use any common sense, and they had played right into his hands, until Ian had heard him speak and had asked the questions that he could not answer.

That was something Ian had never done, fooled a museum.

He ordered Chinese delivery for dinner, it was becoming pathetic at a rapid pace, but Ian found that he did not want to go out all that much, and he was not really a very good cook. The times when they needed to feed themselves someone in the gang who was more skilled with a skillet than him would usually take that chore, leaving Ian to take care of the things he did best.

Planning the operation.

That was one of the things that was wearing on him, there was no challenge in anything anymore. There was nothing for him to beat his intellect or his skill against, there was nothing he had to struggle to accomplish.

Even improving the museum's security system had been welcome, and that had been one of the most simple things in his career.

The food came and he flicked on the telly, no challenge there, was there ever?

Quite the opposite for watching the telly took no brain at all.

The fellows who ran the TV station must think that no man possessed even half a brain, considering the crap they sent. He wound up watching the cartoons because at least they were funny.

* * *

This is the end of this chapter, I shall update again in two weeks, and keep the updates up every second week.

I want to thank everyone who read my earlier National Treasure story, thank you, all of you.

Here are review responses from my first story, again thank you, all of you:

sz2000: I am very glad that you liked it. I have tried to keep the characters as I saw them in the movie, but also to explore them and what they can be. Ben and Ian are trying to be the friends that they started out to be, but there have been difficulties that neither of them expected. I still hope that you shall like this.

LadyDeb1970: There are indeed some times when Ben does things that makes him no better than Ian, but most often those seems to be covered up rather quickly, then again, we have already discussed that. Thank you so much again for all the help, I hope you like to see this up now.

Kat: I am glad that you found it interesting. Perhaps I should have been more clear, and I have tried to be now. Ian does not take the offer because he needs the money, he does it because he feels that he owes it to Ben for giving him that chance. Ian here is a bit devastated over losing Shaw, and so even if he has the money to do what he wishes, he feels very strongly that he has to repent his mistakes. One way of doing that is taking Ben's offer.

Elvenrarehunter: I am happy to hear that you liked it, and that my characters were enough like they were in the movie. I beg pardon for all and any mistakes, but being dyslexic I fear I sometimes gives my beta a lot to do. Hopefully there shall not be to many mistakes.

Legolas's Girl 9: As always I am very glad to hear that you liked it. It is a pleasure to write when I know you will be reading it.

hornofgondor2: I take it that you to love our dear Sean Bean, I hope that you shall enjoy what I have involved him in this time. I have tried to make Ian justice, and I hope I have not portrayed him in a negative way. Hopefully you shall enjoy this.

weirdo librarian: I am very glad that you enjoyed it. I was also thinking how it was not black and white, good and evil the first time I saw it, now, the more I watch it, the more I see all the grey scales in it. I will try to avoid all grammar errors, and I have gotten better at it with time, but I fear that there are times when the dyslexia makes it difficult. I am sorry for those times.

Celebwen Telcontar: Thank you, thank you very much. I am glad to have caught the interest of fellow Ian fan. Unfortunately since he died it is difficult to write Shaw into this, but he is not forgotten. Ian have not forgotten him, nor have the others, so I hope that you shall be able to enjoy this as well.

Earendil Eldar: Yeah, you did read it, and I am ever so grateful to you for it, your opinion means a lot to me. Now, maybe I should include going to the theatre once in a while into the plot to stop you working to much and enjoy yourself once in a while, what do you think of that suggestion? I know that the Island will be screening soon, and since it has our dear Sean Bean on the role list, how could one not enjoy it, eh? I for one will be in the first line. For now, I hope you were able to enjoy this.


	2. A Pleasant Surprise

Author's note: This is based on the movie National Treasure, and is to a great deal dedicated to the more than worthy performance of Sean Bean. I enjoyed the movie very much, but I thought that since Ben and Ian often used similar methods to reach the same goal, I did not see one of them as more evil than the other. I also thought that the hints of the friendship we saw between them should be explored more. I began doing that in 'Who Did You Say Stole the Declaration,' this story takes up a short time after that one ended, and is my version of what happened next. I hope you all shall like it.

Big thanks to LadyDeb1970 who have been going over this for me, and helped me with plot and story ideas. Also to Celebrion for being my beta.

Disclaimer: I do not own National Treasure. I just borrowed it because I like Sean Bean as an actor. I will return all characters in good and whole order, completely undamaged, if covered with a slight glue residue from having been put together again. I also swear I will not make any serious attempt at stealing Ian. More than I already have that is…

The name of Thomas McDowell have been stolen from LadyDeb1970, with her kind permission, as well as one or two other details.

/Elenhin

* * *

Chapter 2, _**A Pleasant Surprise**_

Ian was standing by one of the glass boxes in the museum when he saw a reflection in the glass. There were his own reflection, and then behind it and to the side was the reflection of someone approaching him from behind.

He had hoped that Charlotte really would come by again, and apparently she had done so. She was at least approaching him and with the determined smile on her face he would guess that she was looking for him.

"What a pleasant surprise." He said without turning around.

"I agree, you actually remember me." She said as if he would have forgotten her.

"Trust me, I remember the first one who thinks that I am capable for something more than making sure that the children on the field trip does not throw their chewing gums in an antique Ming vase." He snorted, it was supposed to have sounded like an amusing joke, instead it sounded rueful.

"They don't know how to appreciate you." She nodded. "Come, I know that, and I want a tour from someone who can actually tell me stuff about these things, not just how grateful they are to my father to give them the money to buy them, tell me what the things here really are Ian."

So he gave her a tour through the museum, he told her about the history of that vase, he told her how old that coin was, and he told her about where that artefact came from.

"How are you able to keep everything in mind?" She asked as he had gone into details about a ceremonial knife. "All that information and you keep all of it in your head."

He shook his head. "It interests me. I like history and I enjoy learning about it." He pasted on a smiled. "Plus the fact that memorising it keeps me from going insane from boredom."

She gave him that scrutinising look that let him know that she was not fooled, it was not a joke, committing all the dates and numbers and facts to memory was the only thing he had, and if he did not have that he would become insane.

He hurried along before she could comment on it, for really it sounded a bit pathetic. He was a grown man, and fairly attractive, he should have more of a life. He was not even involved in any business for the moment, people were to wary of the name Howe to want him to invest in anything worthwhile, and he was not about to change his name.

It was a to complicated procedure. At least the way he did it, he had already changed it from McDowell to Howe once, and it was complicated, for the McDowell still remained legally his name, he had added on Howe and took the McDowell out of use, while it still remained his name, and that took a lot if they were to make sure to leave out the McDowell on papers.

Otherwise he would get things addressed to a Mr Ian McDowell Howe, and then it would be pointless. He could have removed the McDowell completely, and then it would have worked out itself, but he still wanted to keep that name. It was a very old family name after all. Very old, he sniggered to know that the McDowell's had more of a history than the Gates family, in spite of all Ben's bragging of his old and important family.

"What's so funny?" She demanded, taking his arm to lock his attention firmly on him.

"Oh, I was just thinking about old family names." He shrugged. "And their importance to some people."

"Well, Gates is a fairly well known and important name." She nodded, and he was a little surprised that she could tell he had been thinking of Gates. "Though it was nothing more than a mockery for many generations, and there are still a lot of important people that looks down on it." She fixed his look with a firm one. "Why are you so amused by that."

"Gates is a bit impressed with his family because of their connection to the legend of the treasure." Ian said slowly, not sure if he should be revealing this much to her. Still he might as well, for once he believed that he could trust someone with this information. He lead her over to where a dagger lay in a glass box, a very impressive dagger made of silver. "Now this dagger here is believed to have been part of a larger treasure." He informed her, this was something he had learned long before meeting Ben Gates. "It is even believed that it belonged to a knight, now the reason it's here and not in a bigger museum is that it was donated. This museum, if not the biggest, is a very old one, and long ago it was the only museum around these parts. When the owner of that dagger realised how much his letter opener was worth he decided to give it over to a museum, and he gave it to this one. The man was named McDowell, and that is a family more well known than even the Gates."

"Do you think Ben would believe that there was a more important family than his own?" Charlotte asked as she regarded the dagger. She also noted the way Ian looked at it.

"More important yes, but more historical, I am not sure about that one." Ian shrugged. "The reason the McDowell's are of a larger historical value is because that family was always involved with the Knights Templar and supported them, though in secret for the most time. Because of their involvement they were believed to have been entrusted with at least some treasure or something of equal importance."

"It actually sounds likely." Charlotte smiled. "If they had a secret ally they would turn to that ally when they needed aid. The McDowell's sounds like a logical choice."

"Very." Ian agreed, "But if it is true then it is just another family legend."

"Family legends tend to be a lot of fun." She smiled. "Some day you shall have to tell me about yours."

"The legend of the Howe family." He chuckled. "I am afraid that there is not much legend there as I am the only living one, and my parents died when I was young, I'm afraid I never learned a lot from them."

It was true, his parents had never told him very much, it had all been his great aunt that had entertained him with those tales.

"I am sure that there must be some interesting tale about the legendary Mr Howe." She grinned teasingly. "You are as I have said a very remarkable man."

"Remarkable." He laughed. "You flatter me. I am the criminal and that is the only remarkable thing about me. I am the idiot who had a small legal fortune and then had to screw up just for the thrill of a hunt."

He shook his head.

"No one will see much remarkable in that. Just the fool who tried and failed, are you aware that I am marked as the one who destroyed the Declaration of Independence. It's there, looked safely in its glass box, and yet I am said to having destroyed it. Ben did more damage to it than I did, and still they claim me to have turned it into confetti. I think someone said I tore down the church, and I know not what more I have done in the name of greed. If I am remarkable it is remarkably stupid. If you see me and talk to me, looked down on is all you will be. Do you want people to look at you and wonder how you can waste time on a criminal?" He looked her in the eye. He looked sad, as of some of the scorn and the hurtful rumours were getting to him.

She glared at him. "Idiot to speak that way about yourself, as if you should not be worth my time. I come here because I think that you are, or I would not come here. Is it not bad enough that they say such lies about you, must you make them right?"

He was taken back for a moment, she was truly telling him not to put himself down. Here was a woman he had only seen once before and she was talking that sternly to him, and she was telling him off for putting himself down, it was not something he had been prepared for.

"I did not think that anyone could see me as anything but a criminal anymore." Ian said slowly. "You might not, but so many others do. If you are the only one left to see me as a man and not a criminal, then you are too precious to me for me to want them to talk behind your back for it."

"People talking about me behind my back does not bother me that much." She stated. "What would bother me was if I allowed their talk to keep me from doing what I wanted. Face it Ian, you won't get rid of me because some brainless twit can not see your worth."

"So do you want a tour around the rest of the museum?" Ian asked, he had to admit to himself that he was pleased that people's talk would not scare her off. He had had enough of people who would not talk with him because of what other people would say.

"Yes, thank you." She grinned. "Let us see what more they have on display here in their own Duchy of Dust."

"Duchy of Dust?" Ian enquired.

"A dusty library is a Kingdom of Dust." She replied with a shrug. "A museum is much more cleaned, but considering the age of most things, it at least counts as a Duchy of Dust."

Ian chuckled. "I do not think you shall be disappointed. We have a statue here that should be dusty enough for your taste."

"Take me to it then." She commanded. The rest of the tour they chatted pleasantly with each other.

* * *

Powell stood outside and looked into the foyer.

There was a tall man standing there, just visible from where Powell and the others stood. They could see him quite clearly though and for those who knew him there was no mistaking that blond hair, he wore it long and combed back. Out of his eyes and out of the way. It was also a habit of him to run a hand through it when he was agitated.

"Shouldn't we go in there?" Phil asked.

Powell shook his head. "He doesn't want us to."

"We don't matter to him anymore." Shippen sounded as if he was speaking about a nightmare. Something he did not want to believe. "Didn't think that he'd be one to turn his back on us."

"He haven't. He made sure that we were well set up, remember." Powell looked at them. "He'd be the last one to turn his back on us."

"Then why are he in there and we out here?" Phil moved so that he would get a better view of the man inside.

"It's because we lost Shaw." Powell said, and it was an unexpectedly deep insight from him. "He's still hurt by it. And you all know how much Shaw meant to him, ever since he saved Shaw from getting beaten up in jail. He's still blaming himself for losing him, you know how he always have taken responsibility for us, always. And he probably thinks that we blame him as well. Just because he is so certain that it was his fault."

"Then we should go in there and tell him that it was not, that we don't blame him." Shippen argued.

"He's not ready for it yet." Powell said firmly. "That's why he's keeping away from us. He would not keep away otherwise.

"So what do we do then?" Phil asked.

"We'll do what he would have done." Powell grinned. "We'll do what he's done for us the whole time. We'll keep an eye on him."

"Then we should find out who she is." Shippen motioned to the woman who stood speaking to Ian. The same one that they had seen him with before. "I think that he's taken a fancy to her."

"That's good then." Phil chuckled. "He could use having a nice lady taking care of him after always taking care of us."

"We agree then, we keep an eye on him, and if anyone mess with him we'll make them regret it." Powell stated and all of them nodded with an determined grin.

Ian had always before looked after them, when they were a few mere petty thieves he had made them into something more, and when he had put his money to more legal business, and had even become respectable he had included them. When he could have so easily turned them out and not bothered about them anymore.

He had always given them a fair share of the money they made, investing most of it and giving them equal shares. He had never complained about them being too rough or tried to rein in their behaviour in any way.

Ian was a man who took his friends for what they were, and he had made them into something of the best. How could they not be grateful to him for it?

The others went back to the apartment where they lived, but Powell remained behind to make sure that Ian got home alright. He was fairly skilled at shadowing someone without letting them know that he was there, and Ian was not thinking that anybody could be following him, at the same time the rest of them was figuring out who the woman was, they soon had her name and address. They would make sure that she would not hurt Ian.

* * *

Ian found that seeing Charlotte was the one thing he actually looked forward to. He felt rather lonely most of the times. He and his men had always shared an apartment between them, it had always been enough for them and it was practical to remain close to each other. Now he lived alone in a few rooms not far from the museum, and it was very different. There was no trace of the chaos that several grown men created.

The only thing near chaos was the occasional bio hazardous experiment in the fridge whenever some leftovers were there too long before he threw them out.

Ian was not the kind of man who allowed an apartment to become a mess, but he found that he became more and more absentminded about things like what was in his fridge. Not only did he forget to buy new food to put in it, but he also forgot to take old food out of it.

It was something that annoyed him, he had never been that way before, but now he could fall asleep in the evening and even have forgotten to take food from the fridge to put into himself.

A few weeks later Charlotte eyed him critically. "How long ago was it since you ate three meals a day?" She asked him as she noted that it looked as if he had lost a few pounds.

"I've been eating enough." He shrugged. "Not too much appetite, but I've eaten."

"Not enough Ian." She eyed him over again. "Come, lets go to some nice restaurant tonight. Just a nice quiet evening and some good food."

"Whatever you want." He agreed. He liked her, he liked her so very much. She was too good for him, but she did not make him feel worthless.

"Come Ian, I know a nice place." She slid an arm around his waist as they walked from the museum. He would not say that he did not know when she had started doing that, but he knew, oh he knew.

It was impossible to miss the jolt it sent through his body when she did it, he had jerked as if he had gotten an electric charge through him, and she laughed over what her touch could do to him.

He was aware of how much she enjoyed doing it, but he did not put his own arm around her waist, he was afraid to. She would probably enjoy it, might even be wanting it, but how could he? He was not sure what she was after, friendship, or a romance? He was not a good choice if she wanted to fall in love, and he did not dare to encourage that. It would only give her trouble. Yet she did it so naturally, slid her arm around his waist to rest against his hip, and she never seemed to be hindered in walking so close to him.

"Trust me, you'll love it." She grinned, and that smile was so sweet to look at. She lead him to a nice restaurant. One that he had to admit had very good food.

He concentrated on eating, even if he did not have much appetite.

"Ian, what are you so upset about?" She asked.

"I'm not upset about anything." He attempted an easy laugh.

She reached over and plucked the fork out of his hand, he looked up at her startled.

"Not upset as in an old lady howling into her handkerchief, but you are upset Ian, what's wrong?" She spun his fork between her fingers. "Why are you suddenly so quiet and subdued, that is not like you Ian, I know that already, what is the matter?" She began to twirl the fork with her fingers as a magician would his wand while grinning mischievously. "If you don't tell me you won't get your fork back."

"I'm not all that hungry anyway." He shrugged.

"And a man your size who's never hungry means that everything is well." She said sarcastically.

She sighed and gave him the fork back.

"Shall I tell you what I think Ian, I think that you are letting them getting to you, you listen too much to what they say, and you also think that you need to protect me from it, that is wrong Ian. I make my own choices, and if you ever get the foolish idea that you'll decide what is the best thing for me, than I will do worse things than stealing your fork."

"If you do not try to protect you, then I must." He mumbled.

"No Ian, face it. I care about you a great deal." She said seriously. "You might be afraid of what seeing me will bring, I on the other hand is more afraid about not seeing you. It was too late the first time when I spoke with you. Hopefully we shall grow closer, I hope so most definitely, though whatever happens I will not let you shun me because you are afraid of what people will think of me. You have no other option than accepting that, for I will not leave when I can so clearly see that you are unhappy."

"I'm fine Charlotte, and most definitely not in need of a baby sitter." He said, and for once there was some emotion in his voice.

"No Ian, but you do need a friend, and I am here."

Ian looked down. "You say that as if it was that easy and it is not. Do you have any idea what people can do with mere talk?" He demanded. "Do you know what they could do to you merely for seeing me? The museum never give away my name if they can avoid it. They do not tell anyone who they are putting to guiding the tours, they say that it is just someone working for them, something vague, anything as long as they do not have to tell that it is Ian Howe. You say you would not care, but how can you say that so easily. It is not that easy."

He shook his head. "Do not listen to me, I'm just tired, I have not slept well lately. I think that I will go home and get some sleep."

"Do that Ian." She smiled. "I'll come by tomorrow after closing time, okay?"

"If you want to." Ian paid the bill and left the table.

She watched him leave, thoughtfully. He was not doing too well, but she supposed that it was not too bad yet, after all there were still those who watched over him.

Leaving some tip she left the restaurant, she could just see Ian disappear around the corner, and off to the right a man who had been sitting on a bench folded his newspaper and stood.

She walked over to him before he could leave.

"Judging by what I have seen of how you and your friends are always watching us I am fairly certain that you are a friend of Ian." She said straightforward.

"You're not supposed to know that." He objected. "That's why we're shadowing him."

"He have not noticed, but I have." She smiled. "You are his friend, right?"

He nodded and extended his hand. "I'm Powell. He's our boss, and we look out for him as he always looked out for us."

"Ian is protective." She nodded. "Too protective, he has gotten the silly notion that he needs to protect me from people talking about me."

"What should I call you?" Powell asked. He was not a little surprised that she had discovered them. They were good at this sort of things, so he could only gather that she was good as well.

"Charlotte, as you no doubt already know is my name." She smiled. "I have a very good memory for faces, I could describe to you how pretty much everyone I have met today looked, so when I saw the same person close to Ian a few times I figured that it would not be coincidence. He has told me a little of his friends and it seems to fit." She grinned again. "You do not have to worry that I will hurt him, I will not do that, I like him to much, and I will certainly let you know if he needs you."

"Thank you." Powell sighed. "We did not dare to approach you, we were afraid that we would scare you off."

She laughed. "It is not very easy to scare me, even if someone will not understand that."

Now it was Powell's turn to laugh. "No one as stubborn as him when he wants to. No one." He searched his pockets for a notebook and a pen and scribbled down a number. "If you are a friend of Ian you are a friend of ours, if you or Ian need anything call this number."

"Thank you." She took the note and folded it carefully before putting it in her pocket. "I'll keep an eye on him from my end as well."

"You'll be good for him." Powell stated. "I'll make sure he gets home now." Powell hurried off after Ian and she headed home herself.

* * *

This is the end of this chapter, I shall update again in two weeks, and keep the updates up every second week.

I want to thank everyone who read my earlier National Treasure story, thank you, all of you.

Here are review responses from my first story, again thank you, all of you:

Earendil Eldar: It certainly sounds as if they could have had use of Ian there, I did not seriously think that people was still buying the with canvas. My favourite explanation thought is a cow on a grass field. Only the cow ate all the grass, and then walked off. I hope that you shall like the rest of this as much as the first chapter, I've tried to make it as close as possible to the movie, and still exploring my own ideas.

Elvenrarehunter: I am very glad that I got you interested. Makes me feel as if I have finally succeeded with something. Keeping them close to the movie was hard, but Ian is the kind of character I feel that I can understand. Also, seeing the movie over and over, and over again helps. I really hope you shall think this was worth the wait.

Lady Elbereth Tealrose: Now it have been two weeks my Padawan, I think I must work more on teaching you patience, maybe making you wait four weeks the next time, nah, I could never do that. It does however make me very proud to know that my apprentice enjoys my work, more proud than I can tell you. I hope that I shall have more for you soon, at least something new in the James Bond section. Will that do?

Jen Lennon: I have only written one other piece on the National Treasure, so I am very glad that you enjoyed it. I hope that you shall also enjoy the rest of it. I want to thank you very much for reviewing.

frozonedude12: Have I caught your interest then? I really do hope that you enjoy reading this, and thank you ever so much for the review.

Silveni Jinx: I am glad to hear that you liked it, and would like to thank your for your review. This will indeed continue, and I have almost the whole story written now, just waiting to be posted.

Lazaefair: I am aware of the fact that my English can be stiff at times, I am sorry for it, but I have dyslexia, and have found that I can handle a more formal grammar more easily. I have done my best to not let it affect the story though. In the movie I noticed how Ian was more formal than his men, and I have written them that way. I appreciate that you pointed it out to me though, I will do my best to make sure it does not get to bad, also thank you for alerting me to Charlotte, I am trying very hard not to make her to perfect, and most of her flaws comes into play later. Please warn me if it is not clear enough, and yes, people still drink ale, generally any dark beer is called ale, and my favourite brand is name Newcastle Ale. I would like to thank you again very much for letting me know your feelings.

Saerwen: Glad you liked it, and yeah, I've got your suggestions, lets see how you liked this last chapter. I hope that it was worth the wait for you.


	3. How about Lunch?

Author's note: This is based on the movie National Treasure, and is to a great deal dedicated to the more than worthy performance of Sean Bean. I enjoyed the movie very much, but I thought that since Ben and Ian often used similar methods to reach the same goal, I did not see one of them as more evil than the other. I also thought that the hints of the friendship we saw between them should be explored more. I began doing that in 'Who Did You Say Stole the Declaration,' this story takes up a short time after that one ended, and is my version of what happened next. I hope you all shall like it.

Big thanks to LadyDeb1970 who have been going over this for me, and helped me with plot and story ideas. Also to Celebrion for being my beta.

Disclaimer: I do not own National Treasure. I just borrowed it because I like Sean Bean as an actor. I will return all characters in good and whole order, completely undamaged, if covered with a slight glue residue from having been put together again. I also swear I will not make any serious attempt at stealing Ian. More than I already have that is…

The name of Thomas McDowell have been stolen from LadyDeb1970, with her kind permission, as well as one or two other details.

/Elenhin

* * *

**_Chapter 3, How about Lunch?_**

It was unusual when people came into the museum and requested a guided tour by him, in fact the only one who had done it before was Charlotte, and she had gone to him, not asked the manager.

It was the manager who came to Ian where he stood studying an old medal.

"Ian, this is Mr Mellors. He has been very generous to us and have asked for a tour." He gave Ian a stern look that said that Mr Mellors had better be satisfied by the tour.

Ian nodded, he understood it very well. The use of his first name, they did that whenever someone else was near, because they did not want to give away that he was 'that' Howe. When no one else was around, then he was Howe, when someone might know who Howe was, then he was Ian.

"If you would please come this way." He said politely to Mr Mellors. He showed him the Egyptian artefacts, the knight's armour and all of the relics in the museum.

"Is there anything else Mr Mellors?" He asked when they had gone through the entire museum.

"Call me Charles." The man smiled. He was old, but he seemed to be awake and alert, and Ian found that he actually liked him. "It was my daughter who talked me into going here, as I am not really that interested in all of these dusty things, but she was right this time, I rather liked what I found." He smiled warmly.

"I am glad that you enjoyed the tour." Ian smiled back.

"I enjoyed it, and I have no doubts that we shall see more of each other." Now he grinned and there was a mischievous glint in his eye. "My daughter appears to have made a wise decision."

"Your daughter? I do not think that I understand." Ian had no idea what the man was talking about.

"My daughter Charlotte, yes. She appears to have taken a fancy for you." He chuckled. "Do not look so surprised, she told me about you, and suggested that I should meet you. Now I have and I think that I quite like you. I wish you a good day, and Charlotte asked me to say that she would be coming around later."

"Er, thank you." For once Ian had to admit that he was surprised. He had not expected Charlotte's father to come to speak with him.

* * *

"So, what did you think of my father?"

Ian spun around, he had been standing lost in thoughts, very lost since he had not noticed Charlotte coming up behind him.

"Do you always do that?" He demanded.

"Sneak up behind people, not really, but as preoccupied as you were an elephant could have snuck up behind you." She grinned teasingly.

"Sending your father to check someone out."

She shook her head. "My father is very involved with what I do, he does not try to rule my life, but he is very involved with it, and so I like for him to meet the people I know. I did not send him to approve of you Ian, but I like you, and I hoped that he would as well. Is that so bad?"

"I don't like it when people spring surprises on me." He muttered.

"You sometimes makes it very difficult not to." She frowned very seriously at him. "We've spoken a few times now, and you are not the most forward one I have met. So, I have to be the one taking the first step instead of waiting for you to do it."

"There are no reason to be waiting for anything." Ian said harshly, did she not understand that she would only get trouble from seeing him? "There is not even one good reason for you to even be here with me. Not one good reason."

She leaned her back against a pillar and crossed her arms in front of him. "I thought that Ian Howe was smarter than that, then again all men are pretty much idiots when it comes down to it. Now stop being such a brainless twit so we can get some food, I am hungry."

Who had given her the abilities to always leave him standing there with his chin in knee height because he just did not know what to reply when she said those things. To even imagine that he was outwitted by a bratty woman, it was funny in an ironic way."

"Lunch then." He might as well give up.

"Lunch." She agreed. "Come on, I know a place that have some really good meatloaf at lunch time. Just like mom made it."

"My mother never made meatloaf." Ian noted absently.

"Then you have missed something." She teased him. "I'll show you what."

She lead him to a nice cosy restaurant and ordered food for them both.

Ian could admit that he had eaten a lot worse food than meatloaf and potatoes, but he was not sure if he was overly fond of it either. It was not just the kind of food that he enjoyed.

"So what food did your mother cook you?" Charlotte asked him.

"My mother never cooked much." He shrugged. "She was too busy most of the time."

"What did you eat then?" She asked seriously. Her mother had always made food for her when she was young.

"I ate what I cooked." He did not think that there was anything strange with that. "I cooked my own food pretty much since I was seven, my parents were always busy at work so I took care of myself."

"You cooked your own food when you were seven?" She asked in disbelief.

"You sound like if you can't imagine something like that." He noted.

"I find a seven year old kid making dinner for himself a bit strange." She nodded. "At that age I did not even know how to use the stove."

"Everyone is different. I liked it that way." He swallowed the last of his meatloaf. "I preferred that to having my parents hanging over my shoulder all the time. I enjoyed being allowed to take care of myself too much for anything else."

Charlotte regarded him in a new way. She could see that, Ian was independent all right. He was the kind of man who did not let anyone else run his life for him, but still, cooking food at the age of seven. She supposed that he would hold many surprises until she got to know him better.

"So what was your favourite food when you were a kid?" She asked him.

"I liked sausages." He laid down his fork. "I need to get back to the museum now."

"I'll get you for lunch tomorrow." Charlotte stated. "Maybe we can find some place that serves sausages." He nodded absently as he headed for the exit.

Her father had always said that nothing worthwhile came easy, how true it was! She might have fallen for Ian as soon as she saw him, but Ian had fallen in his self belief, and getting to him appeared to be a constant struggle against him. How could someone with that confidence, someone who had accomplished so much fall so low in his self esteem. Ben Gates would never have gotten far enough to get to the Charlotte if not for Ian, Ian was the one who had stood up to all those who said it was a crazy project. He was the one who had taken the biggest risk.

If Ben Gates had failed it would have been another proof of the family failure, if Ian had failed he would have been mistrusted in the business. Ian had risked far more than Ben and yet he had done it willingly. Now however, she doubted that he would stand up for it the same way. If they said that he was doing something crazy now he would nod his head and scratch his shoe and then beg pardon for his stupidity. He would not trust his own instincts anymore.

Ian was a very independent and strong man by nature, and they were destroying that lovely trait of his, they were reducing Ian's strength to nothing. They were breaking him down to something that they felt secure they could manage, and that was a great crime. It was a good thing that Ian had his men who still watched out for him.

* * *

Ian was keeping himself busy until lunch time, maybe if he was busy enough he would not notice lunch, and then Charlotte would not be there to pick him up. It was not a conscious thought, Ian was not a coward to avoid something, if he had been aware of what he was thinking he would certainly have gone out into the foyer to wait for her.

Yet there he was in the back rooms of the museum, trying to keep busy and out of the way at the same time.

"Hello, Ian." He knew those footsteps almost as well as he knew Charlotte's, almost as well as he had known Shaw's. It was Ben Gates.

"Hello Ben." He said as he forced a smile. Ben did not appear to notice that it was a forced smile.

"I thought that I should see how you were doing." Ben went on. "You like it here, don't you Ian?"

"It is well enough Ben. More than I could have hoped for." Ian said.

"Good, I want you to be happy Ian." Ben was looking around himself and did not see how Ian's smile faltered. "It wasn't easy to get them to take you, but I did it."

"No one wants ex-criminals." Ian shrugged. "Not even if you aren't a criminal anymore." He recalled that very well, until he had changed his name, when the prison record was so obvious on his record, he had been turned down on job after job by honest people. They saw the prison record, and then they did not want him.

"You can hardly blame them." Ben was too busy studying a vase to hear the pain in Ian's voice as he agreed, no, he did not blame them. No, Ian did not, it was not their fault, but how could they expect a man to go straight after serving a sentence when you were never given the chance.

"Don't worry Ian, no one sees you as a criminal anymore." Had Ben been looking at Ian as he said it he would have seen in Ian's eyes, that people did just that, but Ben was looking at the vase, and Ian did not say anything.

The two men had decided on another attempt at friendship, but it had not worked out for them yet. Ben was so busy with his new-found fame, always going around and speaking at openings at museums and those things, and even if he did not mean to, he was forgetting about Ian.

He was there to check on him, he had gone there to make sure that Ian was alright, but he satisfied himself with being there. He thought that as long as he went there to check Ian would be alright.

Charlotte watched the two men, she had come to pick Ian up and had recognised Ben Gates talking with him, oh they were talking, but Gates was not listening to what Ian said. He was hearing what he wanted to hear, what he had thought that Ian would say.

Then he clapped Ian on the shoulder and wished him a pleasant time until they saw each other next time, and then he left, and there stood Ian.

Left behind and looking like a puppy that had just been kicked and then thrown out in the rain.

Charlotte considered going after Ben and telling him a few choice words, but that could wait. There were quite a few things that he needed to hear, but it was far more important to go and take care of Ian. Considering Ben's attitude towards him she could suddenly understand more of how Ian acted. Ben really was getting to him with him being so superior.

He was standing looking through a glass window now, but she was willing to bet that he could not tell her what was on the other side of that glass if she asked him.

The expression on his face was one of defeat, she hated to see it on him. It did not become him to appear so lost.

When she got to Ben Gates he would have a few things to answer for.

The thing was that if she walked right up to him he would know that she had seen him talk with Ben, and she was not sure he would appreciate that. Ian was difficult, he was not too proud to accept help as some men were, but he was too independent for it. Ian wanted to be able to do everything himself. He did not get involved into something that he could not handle.

Most criminal leaders of Ian's skills sat back and sent out their men to do the work, Ian had always been there with them. He had never remained behind in safety as some did, if he had been any different she would not be interested, but how do you step in and aid someone who thinks it is sinful to accept help?

She could see that he was struggling to compose himself, and so she gave him the time he needed for it. He straightened his back and drew a deep breath, and that was when she stepped up to him. Do not let him get too composed, if he still felt vulnerable she might have a chance of making him admit that help would not be all bad.

"Ready for lunch?" The hand that grasped his arm was mostly to get his attention, she spoke in a soft voice, a comforting one.

He smiled and nodded, so he clearly was unsettled. Yet her heart leapt with joy, for the smile went all the way up to his eyes, he truly was happy to see her.

"What do you want to eat?" She asked him.

"Anything's fine." He shrugged.

"Chinese?" She asked as she was beginning to suspect that he was not much for the normal conventional food she had grown up with.

"Why not." He nodded. "There is a nice Chinese place just around the corner."

"Lets go there then." She had to admit that there was one really good thing with the Chinese restaurant, they had a buffet table and once you had paid for your plate you could eat as much as you wanted.

She took two pairs of chop-sticks from their vase and brought to the table, if you wanted a knife and fork it appeared that you would have to ask for it. She might not have eaten much Chinese, but she had learnt to eat with chop-sticks. She could manage without embarrassing herself. The food was very good, there was no doubt about that, and she rather liked the octopus that they served, but was she really supposed to eat more than Ian.

He was fairly tall and if not heavily built he was not skinny, yet he was not eating much at all, and she could not recall having even seen him eat much. She was fairly certain that he should be eating more than he was. One more thing on the list that she had to take care of. Make sure Ian did not starve himself out of neglect, making sure that Ben Gates did not destroy him. She sighed, men, as soon as you laid eyes on them they were not much more than trouble. Still she was committed now, and she was not one to quit, she would have him back on the right track with some time.

He might be stubborn, but her father always claimed that she was the daughter of a mule.

* * *

After his conversation with Ian Ben felt really good, he had hoped that Ian would be doing well, and he certainly seemed to. He felt a bit guilty about being so occupied all of the time that he rarely went there to see him, on the other hand Ian seemed to be suffering the same problem. He had never been to see Ben either.

It was however nice to see that he was doing well, it appeared that working in museum suited Ian very well. He was interested in history, that Ben knew, and even if he was not an expert in any way he probably knew enough to be of some use, and the rest he could learn.

It had not been easy to find someone who was willing to take the ex-criminal, and he hoped that Ian appreciated the effort he had taken for him, he could so easily have left Ian to prison, then again it was the ability to forgive such offences that made him better than Ian and his kind.

For Ben was better without a doubt, it was he who had figured out the first clue, who had found the Charlotte, it was he who had solved clue after clue.

It had been an interesting time in the beginning when he had met Ian. At first he had almost been intimidated by the other man, for Ian was so strong and confident. Then as they had moved on Ian had stepped back, he had gotten the equipment that Ben needed, he had even located Riley, but he had not been the one who figured anything out.

In some ways Ben thought Ian should have been able to figure it all out without much trouble. From what he had been told about Ian's 'operations of questionable legibility' as they had been called, Ian had pulled off some impressive things. Enough that he should have been better during the treasure hunts. Ben had never been told exactly what crimes Ian had done, but he knew that Ian had not had any money to speak of when he started, and he had made quite a lot money for himself in the end. Then he had been a very well respected man after his legal investments. Many others had considered him their betters, so it did not make sense that it had been so easy for Ben's father to trick him beneath the church.

Ian should have known that the number of lanterns had been incorrect, he should have known that he was being fooled. Ben could only gather that Ian had been very lucky, very, very lucky to have managed as long as he had, and that he really should be grateful that Ben had been there when his luck had ended. Anyone else might not have been so kind to him afterwards, and where would Ian had been then. He would have spent a long time in prison, and after that he would have been at the mercy of the world. Instead he now had a respectable work, and that was something Ben thought he would be grateful of.

He grinned as he opened the front door to his house. Abigail was home again, her car was out front. She had left even earlier than he had, and had not known when she would be back.

Passing through the kitchen he made some sandwiches for them both, and carrying up a plate and some juice to her study where she worked.

"How was your day?" He asked as kissed her cheek.

"Lets just say that I've searched a thousand leads and have not gotten a single good result." She sighed. "You'd think that one of history's most well known families would be easier to find."

"What family?" Ben took a seat beside her and poured the juicy.

"The McDowell's." Abigail eagerly sipped the juicy and took a sandwich.

"I don't think that I've ever heard about them." Ben admitted.

"You would have to have the right education to have heard of them." Abigail smiled.

"Then how can they be well known?" Ben asked her, that did not make much sense.

"They are well known in my line of work because of their historical value." Abigail grinned, it was always a delight to lecture Ben. "It's an extremely old family, older than the Gates."

"Really?" Ben asked, mentally calculating just how old and important his family was.

"Yes." Abigail went on. "There's evidence that they were involved with the Knights Templar, and actually worked as spies for them. That is why there is very little evidence to be found, they were kept secret as protection, but not only did they spy for the Knights, they also aided them with other things."

"And why do you want to find them?" Ben asked.

"Because it seems that Benjamin Franklin might have been writing letters to a member of that family, a Seamy McDowell, and we want to find those letters. We believe that they would still be in the family's castle in Scotland."

"Then contact whoever lives in the castle, I assume that it is still owned by the same family." Ben shrugged.

"It stands empty for the moment." Abigail frowned. "The last owner Lindsay McDowell left it to her sister's nephew, Thomas McDowell. Only he would not get it unless he could fulfil a condition in the will, and he has not yet been able to."

"Then can't the law firm let you in?" Ben asked as he selected a sandwich for himself.

"They will not, I've spoken with them. And they have not even heard from Thomas McDowell since he paid a large sum for maintenance of the castle. I have done some research on him but not come up with much."

"Tell me what you have this far?" Ben asked, it sounded interesting.

"He was the only child, and he appears to have been very intelligent. I contacted the school where he went to see if they had any information, and he had top grades in every subject."

"Every subject?" Ben asked. "Smart kids tends to be bad in physical activities." He had never done to well in the physical class. He did not like that kind of running around.

"Top grades all the way." Abigail grinned. "Even in physical education. I think he even bested you there, the school claimed that he could have gotten a scholarship any time he wanted. I found a teacher who had been there when he was a student. She was very old now but he told me a few things. Thomas McDowell was a ring leader for the school, and a smart kid. Also the school prankster, he was always doing things to outsmart the teachers, apparently once he exchanged the equipment in every single classroom. There were footballs where there should have been books and so on, he also arranged for all the clocks to be showing the wrong time, and not one single one showed the same time, and that included the ones it should be impossible for him to get to, such as the one in the principal's office. Yet no one could ever catch him or prove that it was him."

"Impressive." Ben admitted.

"That's why the school remembered him." Abigail noted. "Though they considered it a waste of talent that he focused on pranks rather than scholarships."

"That is a waste." Ben agreed, anyone who could pull off such things should make themselves useful, not pull pranks.

"The teacher I spoke with thought that it might be due to his home conditions, that he might be seeking attention to some degree." Abigail poured herself more juice. "He came from a good home, and it appears that his parents cared much about him, but they were always working from what the school knew, and the boy never had them around much. They knew because even in the first grades he was doing his homework by himself, and his parents never came on after-school activities. They worked at a museum and spent all their time with their work."

"Poor kid." Ben swore that should he and Abigail have kids he would treat them better than that.

"That is another reason why the school remembered him, he was orphaned when still in school." Abigail told him.

"Orphaned?" Ben asked.

"His parents died in an accident in the museum where they worked." Abigail's expression turned grim, for the details she had learned was grim. "The museum didn't even inform him, the school was informed only after his father had died at the hospital, and his mother had died instantly. The museum refused all responsibility for what had happened, and so the insurance company did not do anything."

"That must have been horrible." Ben stated, he remembered how it had been when his mother had died, and that had been nothing like that.

"Then the next thing I have on him is a prison record." Abigail went on. "He served six months for abuse when he was twenty. Having attacked a man twice his age whom struck a child, that fellow served a few years. After he was released there's nothing on him, he disappeared."

"People don't disappear unless they die." Ben shrugged. "There have to be a record of him somewhere."

"And I am looking for it." Abigail stated. "Now how was your day, did you see Ian?" She was not entirely certain what she thought about Ian, but there had not been a single complaint about his behaviour, so she supposed that he had behaved, and she had agreed that he should get a second chance. That did however not mean that she wanted to go and see him for the sheer pleasure of it.

"I saw him, he appeared fine." Ben grinned. "He must really enjoy working there. I'm glad that I was able to arrange it for him."

"I was afraid that that sort of thing wouldn't suit him." Abigail took the last sandwich. Ian was not the sort of type she thought would enjoy working in a low position in a museum.

"It seems to be suiting him fine." Ben shrugged. "I only dropped by for a few minutes, but at least the board does not regret taking him, so he must be enjoying himself. The fact that they don't treat him any different must mean that he likes it there."

"He did not say anything then?" Abigail was not sure, but it rather sounded as if Ben had just assumed he was doing fine and not really asked him about it. If they should give Ian a second chance they should make sure that he was doing well. She knew only too well how people could treat someone if they did not trust them, or carried a grudge. She had heard not a few people speak very ill of him, and it was possible that they did where Ian himself was as well.

"He didn't say very much at all." Ben shrugged. "But what could be wrong. He was probably just afraid that I had Riley with me." He laughed at the joke.

"Just keep in mind that there are a lot of people who thinks he is the only one who did something with the Declaration of Independence." Abigail said. "And that they seem to despise him for it, to keep him where people truly despised him would be cruel."

"Don't worry, he's fine." Ben grinned.

* * *

This is the end of this chapter, I shall update again in two weeks, and keep the updates up every second week.

I want to thank everyone who read my earlier National Treasure story, thank you, all of you.

Here are review responses from my first story, again thank you, all of you:

Lady Elbereth Tealrose: Ah, no my dear Padawan, you are not impatient, and yes, I shall hurry up and update as fast as I can. It shall still be two weeks as usual before the next update though, but I am writing very much very fast, and soon I shall have the complete thing written and ready to post. Is not that nice? It is turning out quite long as well.

Jen Lennon: I will most certainly try and keep it as good as I possibly can. I am really happy to know you have enjoyed it, and would like to thank you again for the kind words. You are making it a pleasure to write.

Earendil Eldar: Yeah, I think you would enjoy the movie very much, especially if you keep some of those points in mind. There is much going on in that movie that is not obvious at first sight. I like trying to go deeper into the characters, and not judge them by the first I see. Thought I admit that it helps having Ian played by an actor I like, yet it only took that I looked, they qualities are there. Ian is not an all bad guy, just as Ben is not an all good guy, in fact they are very much alike. Both are more than ready to cross the line should they feel the need to, it is just a matter of what makes them do it. To have you here reading this means a lot to me, thank you.

Lazaefair: I am very grateful for your understanding, and for the fact that you found this worthy enough of your time to point it out to me. I am very far ahead with writing this, I have almost reached the end now, I like to know that I will not be lacking updates because I did not have time to write, so I am afraid that most of it is already written. I do however look over it again with your points in mind every time before I update. Charlotte is difficult yes, and she still seems perfect at times, the thing with Charlotte is that she had checked Ian out before she approached him, she knew who he was and what he had done, and she would not have approached him unless she could accept that. I also loved the loyalty between Ian and his men, and I have tried to portray that, both in actions and in words. Since Abigail works in the National Archives and Ian in a museum, they do not really see much of each others. Also, as shows out here, it has not worked out as Ben and Ian hoped. I did however make them interact here, and I hope that you found it interesting to read. There will be more of that later, for now, thank you again for taking the time to read this. ¨

Saerwen: I take it your browser was being mean the whole evening. That is a bummer, but know that I still love to have you as my reader, and feel honoured. Hopefully you shall have more luck this time.


	4. Breaking Point

Author's note: This is based on the movie National Treasure, and is to a great deal dedicated to the more than worthy performance of Sean Bean. I enjoyed the movie very much, but I thought that since Ben and Ian often used similar methods to reach the same goal, I did not see one of them as more evil than the other. I also thought that the hints of the friendship we saw between them should be explored more. I began doing that in 'Who Did You Say Stole the Declaration,' this story takes up a short time after that one ended, and is my version of what happened next. I hope you all shall like it.

Big thanks to LadyDeb1970 who have been going over this for me, and helped me with plot and story ideas. Also to Celebrion for being my beta.

Disclaimer: I do not own National Treasure. I just borrowed it because I like Sean Bean as an actor. I will return all characters in good and whole order, completely undamaged, if covered with a slight glue residue from having been put together again. I also swear I will not make any serious attempt at stealing Ian. More than I already have that is…

The name of Thomas McDowell have been stolen from LadyDeb1970, with her kind permission, as well as one or two other details.

/Elenhin

* * *

Chapter 4, _**Breaking Point**_

Ian sank down on the couch, when was the last time he had been this weary? He could not remember, heck, he was not certain if he had ever been this weary at all.

One day, several groups, and all of them demanding information about the monster that was Ian Howe. What more had they called him, murderer, thief, he was certain that he had heard something about arson as well, and piracy. How did they even think he could have done all of those things at the same time. It was impossible.

How could they even be stupid enough to think that he had blown up the National Archives building, the bloody thing was still standing there, and if he had shot Ben Gates, then how come he was still alive? Did they even think of that?

No, they did not, they did not think, they just wanted to blame Ian for every injustice in the world.

He could not even do any legal business anymore, for no one would allow him to invest after they heard his name, no one.

Ian was an outcast in society, and no one wanted anything to do with him. Well, Charlotte seemed to, but why he could not fathom. It was a mystery, and he did not care.

The worst had been hearing a group of kids saying how they wanted to be cops when they were older so that they could put people like him in jail. Or rather shoot him. He was a more hated criminal than even the Italian Mafia had been it appeared.

He sighed as he did not even have the energy to flip on the telly, nor undress and go to bed, so emotionally drained that he was not even able to fall asleep but only dozed during the night.

* * *

It was months later when Ian was so depressed that even his old friends could see it from a distance. He was constantly tired and had no appetite at all. He had lost weight and was disturbingly thin.

The only good thing was that he had grown closer to Charlotte, he waited for her to come to him during the day, only it was no longer enough to cheer him up. He was too weary for it to have any true meaning to him. He knew that there was something with her that provoked a certain emotion in him, but now he was too tired for it to have any true meaning. He was too worn out to know what he was feeling for her, and Charlotte had had enough of it.

When she discovered that Ian never ate a single meal unless she was there to force him, and that he never really went to bed but merely collapsed

in an exhausted pile from time to time, that was when her temper was brought out.

Her father claimed that she was more stubborn than any mule in the history of stubborn mules, but she could also lash out like one when she was angered, and now she was angry.

She headed there and she intended to force him into submission. Ian was usually able to hide his wretched state, enough to fool his friends that watched from a distance. They were not completely fooled, but enough that they did not move in with force. Well, if he was not prepared to listen to her she would bring them in close enough to see through it.

It was then that she saw Ben Gates approaching from the other side, and he had Abigail with him. She knew how Ben had wanted to again claim himself to be Ian's friend, and how he had been there a few times to see Ian, and suddenly she was no longer interested in taking Ian to task. It was much more tempting to do a lot worse things to Ben Gates.

Abigail had gone along with Ben as he was going to drop by Ian because she was getting curious about how he was doing now. She was curious about Ian all in all. If he would be different.

She did not know what she had hoped for, but it was not what she saw.

Ian looked horrible, thin and drawn, he was standing slumped and the hand that touched the wall was shaking.

She glanced at Ben, and she could tell that he noticed it as well. Then Ian saw them and straightened a little, as if he could hide it.

"Ian, is everything alright my friend?" Ben asked a bit concerned.

Ian nodded and struggled to smile.

"How do you have the stomach to say friend?" Charlotte spat as she rounded up on Ben. "How do you dare to waltz in here like that. I know a few things that I would like to do to you, and all of them are too kind."

"Who are you?" Ben demanded. He had no idea where she had come out from, he could not recall having ever seen her before.

"My name is Charlotte, and you have a lot to answer for." Charlotte spat.

Abigail had been stunned at first, but now she could see that Charlotte was someone who for some reason cared for Ian, she gave him a very concerned look even as she was shouting at Ben, and Abigail was more concerned about Ian for the moment. Ben could manage well enough, but Ian was standing silent and watching, and she knew that was not like him.

"What right do you have to speak like this to me?" Ben demanded.

"I have the right because I care about Ian, and you have the guts to say friend after what you did to him." Charlotte was furious.

Ian was leaning against the wall now, and he looked really pale, Abigail was actually worried. She was not sure if she would ever really like Ian after what happened during the treasure hunt, but he was not well now, and she was the only one who was not yelling at someone else, and therefore the only one in position to help Ian.

She supposed that all the commotion around him was overwhelming him, she had caught the look Charlotte gave him, and it was more than care, it was love.

"What I did to him?" Ben said astonished. "I'm the one who got him here instead of into jail."

"And a big favour that was." Charlotte spat. "Put him where he is scorned every day, where he is put down every day by people like you who all think themselves superior. What a big favour that is. You are the worst kind Gates."

Abigail moved over to where Ian stood shaking. "Come Ian, you need to sit down."

He nodded shakily and swallowed hard. She took his arm to steady him and he stumbled along after her, this was not the Ian she had seen during that crazy hunt, this was someone vulnerable who needed her help to get to a bench for the moment, because he could not get there on his own. She helped him to sit down and he slumped over leaning against the wall.

"Are you okay?" She asked concerned.

Ian gave a shaky nod.

"I am not the worst kind!" Ben shouted. "At least I am not a thief."

"Oh, please. We both know who really stole that piece of paper, Ian never got near it." Charlotte spat. "What you don't know Gates is that we have met before, and you appeared like a jerk already then. Going on about how good you were to all those fancy fools, but I'm not a fool."

"I stole it to keep it safe." Ben argued.

"Keeping it safe by using lemons and hairdryers on it in a kitchen, that is safe." Charlotte snarled. "Even Ian would have been more careful with it than that. And I know what you did Gates, for I heard you telling my father about it, only I was not worth your attention."

"We had to get the clue before Ian." Ben managed.

"Forget about that." Charlotte ordered. "I do not care about what you did then, but look at what you are doing now." She waved a hand over where Ian sat, she had seen Abigail taking him there, judging by Ben's startled look he had not.

"What I am doing?" Ben looked surprised at Ian, he had never seen him look so pale, and he was shaking. Ian was definitely not looking well. He would guess that Ian was sick, perhaps the flue, but it was hardly his fault if Ian went to work when sick.

Abigail tuned them out for a moment. "Ian, you truly hate being here, do you not?" She asked.

"No, not really, at least I do not think so, not sure." He murmured.

"How are you treated?" Abigail thought that if it was not the museum it was something else, and she had been wondering how Ian would be treated.

"I am the traitor, the one who destroyed the Declaration, the one who destroyed the National Archive, the one who killed Gates, that is how they treat me." Ian sounded like someone who was defeated.

"Why do you take it Ian, that is cruel." She had been afraid that something like that would happen, but this was worse than she expected.

"I owe it to Ben."

Ian suffered such cruelty because he thought that he owed it to Ben, that was not something Abigail had expected to hear.

"He never meant for you to be treated cruelly, Ben never wanted that." Abigail said softly.

"Do you have any idea how it would be to have to suffer that every day?" Charlotte growled. "To be accused for such things every day, to be scorned by everyone. Is that what you think a friend should do?"

"How would I know?" Ben defended himself.

"Did you ever try asking and actually listening." Charlotte asked delivered. "Just look at him, does it look like if he is doing well?"

Ben looked where Abigail actually supported Ian with a hand behind his back. No Ian did not look like someone who was doing well. He could however not believe that it was his fault.

"What do you expect me to do about it?" He demanded.

"You are gonna tell the bastards here that they can not put him on guiding tours with people they know hate him. That is what he has to do here, herd people around and listen to them talk about what a criminal Ian Howe was, and I know he was a criminal. But they blame him for every crime in history, you never had to listen to people who claimed you had blown up the National Archives, with innocents in it, you were never accused for trying to destroy the whole treasure, that is what he is blamed for every day Gates. Are you surprised it wears him down?"

"I can't tell them what to do with Ian." Ben objected. "It was difficult enough to make them take him here."

"And you throw it in his face every time you see him." Charlotte made to deliver her demands. "You get him two weeks off now, he needs sleep and food, for he can not take this anymore. Then you make them treat him better, you had better do that Gates, no blasted tours with gloating bastards, Ian is an expert when it comes to those artefacts here, he'll be more useful with those anyway."

"I'll do what I can." Ben Mumbled.

"You'll do better." Charlotte demanded. "For now I intend to take care of him." She spun around and walked over to where Abigail sat with Ian.

"Thank you." She said quietly to Abigail. Then she sank down beside Ian and slipped an arm around his back.

Ben came along after her. "I'll go and arrange it." He said a bit more humbled. "Then we'll take you home."

Charlotte nodded, Ian was leaning against her, seeking comfort like a small boy.

"I'll come by later and see how he is doing." Ben said as he and Abigail dropped them off where Ian lived. Charlotte had never been there before, but she knew the address.

"Do that and I can almost believe that you care about him." She said as she helped Ian inside.

It was a tidy enough place she supposed. Not spotless, but clean enough.

"You need some proper sleep Ian." She told him. "And no arguments, you do need it."

"To tired to argue." Ian groaned. "You shouldn't have been yelling at Ben, I owe him a lot."

"Not enough that he should leave you in that place like that." Charlotte growled as she helped him out of his clothes. It appeared that she would have to tuck him into bed, well, she could do that well enough, and make sure he stayed there.

"A lot, he changed his testimony." Ian mumbled. "Could have sent me to prison, prison is hell."

"And you have not gone through another kind of hell here?" She asked him. "There are many kinds of prisons Ian, and not all of them have bars."

"Been in prison once, don't ever want to go back there, promised the judge I wouldn't." Ian closed his eyes, then opened them again to look at her. She had not known that he had been in prison, but this was not the time to ask about it, besides it did not matter. That information did not change the fact that she loved Ian for being Ian.

"I did not say anything to him that he did not need to hear." She said soothingly, twirling a lock of his long hair around her finger, why did so many men cut their hair so short when longer was so wonderful to twirl into locks? "He grew too big for his shoes Ian, and he took it out on you, I do not stand for those things, so I brought him down to earth. And I might add that I could have done a lot worse things to him." She could have gone out on the street and told Gregor what Ben had done to Ian, and that Ben was inside with him. Gregor would have gone inside, and had he seen Ian there on the bench, then it only took a little use of imagination to know what would have happened to Ben.

There was two reasons that she had not done that, one, she wanted the pleasure of doing it herself. The other was really two things, she did not want Gregor to get in jail for assault, and not even she wanted to be that cruel to Ben. She had rather good idea of what Gregor would have done, and Ian needed him near, not in jail. Not to mention that she liked Gregor and the others.

"You, you are too gentle." Ian murmured, leaning into her touch.

"Which is why he is still breathing." She smiled. "I am serious though, I could have done a lot worse things to him."

"No, I owe him." Ian sounded a little more distressed now. "He could have sent me to jail, he did not, I owe him."

"I do not think you owe him anything anymore, not after this." She bent to kiss him on the cheek. "Do not fret so now, sleep. We'll talk about it more when you are rested." She pulled the cover up around him. Like a small child.

Ian had closed his eyes, but when she pulled the cover to his shin they snapped open again, looking at her confused, as if he had never really been tucked into bed before. He looked at her bewildered as she smoothed the cover out.

"Want me to sing you a lullaby or read you a fairytale?" She asked with a smile.

Again he looked at her as if he did not understand what that was about.

"Just sleep Ian." She found it hard to imagine a man who did not know about lullabys and fairytales. Her father had told her those tales until she turned into a teenager, because they both enjoyed it. They had only stopped then because he ran out of tales, and so they had instead taken the habit of sitting down together with a good book in the evening.

She supposed that Ian had not done that, and given that he had lost his parents at fifteen, it had to be a very long time since he had anyone to really care about him in this fashion.

No matter how much he and his men looked out for each other she doubted that they tucked each other into bed, and if anyone had done it, it was most likely Ian. Phil had given away that Ian had been the leader in more ways than the one who made the decisions. He had brought a group of people who did not know what they wanted to go together, and he had made sure that everyone was doing okay.

From what they had told her the few times she had spoken to them she gathered that Ian was a good leader. Better than Ben Gates, for one thing Ian did not lose track of the bigger picture, and he did not assume that his men were okay, he made certain of it.

She had spoken to the other three of them a few times, once she had encountered Victor it was not difficult to locate the others of them. There was always one of them standing outside wherever Ian was. So when she saw who it was standing outside she introduced herself to them. Victor had told them about her, and they appeared happy to meet her.

Once the surprise had worn of, as Victor had put it, 'you're not supposed to know when someone is shadowing you, that is what shadowing people is about. It is pointless if you know about it.'

Now as soon as Ian was fast asleep Charlotte went over the apartment. There was no food to speak of to be found. Some tin cans, some macaroni, but nothing really suitable to eat. Then there were one or two items in the fridge that should have been labelled as either bio hazardous, or an alien life form a long time ago. She was not sure which, but one of them seemed to be crawling away in an escape attempt. She aided it by throwing it in the garbage. It did not seem like Ian to allow things to get so bad, not when she looked at the rest of the apartment, but considering his mental state of late, it was not surprising. He had most likely forgotten about them, and if one looked at how thin he was, he could not have looked in the fridge for some time.

She suspected that he really had not been eating except when she made him.

She was going to have to do something about that, like forcing him to eat three meals a day.

Ian was sleeping so she could step outside for a few moments.

It was Gregor on guard duty still, so clearly he had followed them from the museum. He hurried over as soon as he saw her, and clearly he was worried, for usually they were more careful in their approach.

"How's Ian?" He asked as he caught up to her. "I saw that bastard, is Ian okay?" He was most definitely worried and glanced up at Ian's apartment window.

"Not really thanks to Gates, but he'll be okay." Charlotte assured Gregor. "I need to get him to sleep a lot, and eat."

"He haven't looked too well lately." Gregor stated. "But we were not sure if it was bad or not, he looked to be okay, but now when you got out of that place it looked worse." He appeared slightly agitated.

Charlotte sighed. "He's not been either sleeping or eating lately it seems, and had I known that I would have gone to you a long time ago. But I know it now, and I intend to see to it that he takes better care of himself, and Gates had better not object."

"If he does I'll take care of him." Gregor said in a hard voice, and Charlotte thought that she was right. Had she brought him in there Gates would no longer be breathing.

"I told Gates just how good I thought he was." She comforted Gregor. "And I cut him down to size, no change left, and I got him to giving in and doing what I wanted."

Gregor grinned at that, he had not expected that Charlotte was one to be easily run over, he rather thought that she could handle Gates.

"The thing is that they have talked Ian down so much that he believes it, and he has the stupid notion that he owes Gates." Charlotte went on. "He's not doing too well, but I will take care about that, and I doubt he'll argue with me more than once." She grinned and Gregor chuckled.

"He's stubborn." Gregor chuckled. "More stubborn than any of us, he won't give up. He did not give up even when Gates got the Declaration, and he figured out the clues faster than that twit as well, but he will not believe how good he is, you need to sort of whack it into him. Do you think that we should go in now, or keep off for a little while longer?" He asked.

Charlotte was grateful that they still trusted her, for in a way she felt that she should have noticed just how bad Ian's condition was and alerted them to it.

"I do not think going in now would do any good." She said slowly. "He is upset, and is selling himself off to low, I think that it would be better if I could make him see reason again first." Gregor nodded so she went on. "I would have told you, but I guess that I did not know him well enough to see some of the signs. He will however not fool me like that again, and if I even suspect that he might not be shaping up, I'll call you in immediately."

"If he's stubborn about it you just whack some sense into him." Gregor grinned. "That worked well enough for us. You give him a good whack, and then when he is still seeing stars you tell him the deal, if he is still stubborn, then more stars." Charlotte chuckled again, it would no doubt be the fastest way, and she made sure to keep it in mind.

"Could you do me a favour?" She asked.

"Anything." Gregor said confidently.

"Could you go shopping?" She smiled as it felt like a slightly silly request. "He's sleeping but I don't want to goo to far away. But I need to make sure I can have some food for him when he wakes up, and I did not find any food at all in there. I know you're not supposed to go away while on stake out duty, but I really do not want to leave for too long."

Gregor laughed. "Your not supposed to know about the stake out duty in the first place, so I think we can bend the rules. Anyway it's better to have you in there than me out here. I'll get you what you need."

"Thank you." She said feeling relieved. She did not want them to feel like she was trying to order them around.

"You're part of us now." He mused. "So you take the post inside and we from outside. And we help each other with what we need."

Gregor headed off to go grocery shopping and Charlotte went back inside. Ian was sleeping fitfully, tossing and turning in bed. She would have thought that he would sleep more deeply, but then again he was so agitated that he probably could not relax at all.

When she moved over he opened his eyes.

"Time to get up?" He mumbled sleepily.

"No Ian, time to sleep." She said softly.

"Am not tired." He said and blinked as he was having difficulties focusing his gaze on her.

"Try exhausted." Time to try Gregor's suggestion, at least to some extent. "If you do not close your eyes and sleep, I'll knock you out." She promised.

It did not seem as if the threat even registered with him. He shuffled around for a bit as if he was trying to get more comfortable. Then he turned halfway on his side and gripping the cover with one hand he closed his eyes and seemed to be going back to sleep.

Gregor was fast, she had to give him that. She had not thought that he would be back so fast, but the front door creaked open in a crack wide enough for him to slid in two overfull grocery bags. She had heard the door and moved out in the hall.

"He's sleeping again." She said quietly.

"Think I could check, just for a bit?" Gregor whispered. It was clear that he and the others missed being closer to Ian. As close knitted as that group had been before it was no wonder.

She nodded, Ian was sleeping deep enough that he should not notice unless they made some loud noise, and it would make Gregor feel a lot better.

He slipped in very quietly, obviously used to sneaking around for he hardly made a sound, and he only looked into the room while remaining in the hall. Then he headed back out again while nodding to her in gratitude.

She went to the task of putting the groceries away. Gregor had not only been fast but also very effective. He had concentrated on nourishing food, and she only now realised that she had not told him what she needed. A good thing it had not been necessary. He had picked out what she would have. Things that gave you both strength and nourishment. Maybe Gregor had done this sort of thing before, she did not know. Instead she began making a stew that should give Ian at least some strength back.

By making it now and keeping it warm she could give it to Ian whenever he awoke. After having slept and eaten he should be feeling good enough that she could talk some sense into him.

When Ian awoke he felt most of all confused, he could tell that he was at home, but however had he gotten there. For he had no memory of the walk home. He usually could recall what he had walked past if nothing else.

Then he recalled that he had not walked home, they had gone with Ben, and that made him recall what Charlotte had done. He groaned, Charlotte really had been dressing down Ben. She should not do that, it was wrong in some way. Ben was so much better than him in any way, and what would happen now. What would Ben do to him now? He was not sure about that one.

"You awake again?" Charlottes stern voice said. "I thought I told you to sleep Ian."

"I have slept, right? I mean I think I have." Ian murmured.

"If you are not certain whether you have slept or not, you need to sleep more." She stated firmly.

"Nah." He rose on one elbow. "Don't want to sleep."

"Ian, how long has it been since the last time you slept for a full night?" She fixed him with a firm gaze, and he hated when she did that. It made him feel cornered because there was no way out except telling her the truth, and in this case the truth was likely to earn him a scolding.

Or worse than a mere scolding he decided as he recalled just how long it had been.

"Somewhere around when I met you." He murmured, maybe it he said it quietly enough and fast enough she would not hear what he said. That was when it had started, he would lay awake tossing and turning before he could sleep. When he slept he would wake up in the middle of the night, and even when he slept he would feel just as tired when he awoke.

"You must be the biggest fool I have ever met." She was not shouting at him, and at first he thought it was a good thing. Then his still foggy brain came up with the conclusion that she was not shouting because she was too angry to shout.

He wished that his brain would keep out of it, for it clearly was not doing him any good.

"How can anyone be so bloody stupid." She raged. "Even you, and I have come to expect some stupid things from you. This is the worst thing yet, Ian, that's months. Do you have any idea of how stupid that is?"

"Er, no." He cursed himself silently, that really had not been a very smart move. Answering her had really been a bad idea, and normally he would not have done that mistake, but maybe she was right in what she said. Because his brain did not seem to be working.

"Do you even have a brain?" She demanded.

He blinked confused. Had he said that out loud, or was she reading his thoughts? He was not sure which, and he probably did not want to know either.

"Ian, do you realise what you have been doing to yourself?" She was not quivering with anger anymore, and he hoped that it was a good thing.

What he had done to himself? No, he had no idea of what he had done to himself, but whatever it was he was certain that he deserved it. He seemed to have done a lot of bad things, and so it was only logical to assume that he deserved a bad punishment.

"Really Ian, I find it hard to believe that you are even functioning." She sighed. "No, because you really are not, but that you managed to go on as much as you did. No sleep and no food, does that sound healthy to you?"

He had no answer to that, so he gave none. Besides if answering before had been a bad idea, it probably was a bad idea now as well, and he did not want to make the list of failures any longer than it already was. He would guess that the current length had passed the length of Santa's whishing list that all the children made, put together.

Failing just seemed to be the only thing he was good at.

Charlotte was seated on the edge of the bed, but now she was facing away from him, she sat staring at the wall opposite the bed. Leaning forward tiredly with her elbows on her knees, one hand folded into a fist, and the other hand wrapped around it, leaning her forehead against her hands.

"From now on you do not have any say Ian, not until you have seen some sense. You do what I tell you, eating and sleeping and whatever I tell you."

She did not ask for agreement or even confirmation, she did not, for there was no room for any of that in her voice. If she had known that it had been going on for so long, she would have told Victor right there the first time she met him. The only reason she did not call Gregor back in was that he might be angry enough to do something rash.

She drew herself up to sit straighter and turned to look at him. "Are you hungry?" She asked.

He shook his head slowly. He had not been neglecting to eat for the sake of not eating, he could just simply not recall the last time he had been hungry.

She sighed again. "What am I to do with you Ian, I can't really jam food down your throat, but oh, you make me want to."

She rose. "I've some food in the kitchen, and even if you obviously do not know what's good for you, you had better eat." She disappeared into the kitchen. Ian rubbed his hands over his eyes, what a fool he was. He hated to see her upset like that, and it was his fault, which made it even worse.

She returned shortly with one of the cereal bowls from the kitchen. He frowned slightly, cereals, but no, cereals usually did not steam, at least he had never eaten steaming cereals before. Not even his cooking resulted in steaming cereals, most likely because you did not cook them but just poured them into the bowl.

She just held out the bowl to him, and he took it even if his hand shook so much that the content nearly slouched over the rim. It looked like stew. He was not really fond of stew, and he was not the slightest hungry either. Sitting with his back against the wall he stirred it with the spoon.

"Eat Ian." Charlotte moved over so that she sat beside him. Perhaps she could have handled the situation in a better way. Not shouting at him for one thing, for he looked miserable now. She did not want to say anything to make him feel worse. Yet she had just lost part of her control when she saw how much his ribs protruded from his flesh, ribs that should not be visible at all, and his belly was a dip in down to his hips. His wrists were bony as well, and he was so thin. She had not seen it before, not with the layers of clothing he usually wore.

It was remarkable how a mere t-shirt, a sweeter and a jacket could hide those things. She had not even suspected how thin he was growing beneath his clothes, and she doubted that his men had seen it either.

"I do not want to be cruel to you Ian. I most definitely do not want to do that. But you have got to eat some." She stroked her hand gently over his hair, trying to sooth after her previous outburst. "Okay."

He nodded slowly, subconsciously leaning into her touch, and tried to choke down a little of the stew.

He did not eat enough of it, not near enough, but she supposed it was better than nothing. As long as he did eat she could worry about the amount later. She had to start somewhere, and once he had eaten she just tipped him over sideways to sleep some again.

There was stew left, so she filled up a fresh bowl and headed out side.

Apparently there was a new shift, for it was Phil standing there. He grinned when he saw her coming towards him, so he probably had been briefed by Gregor before he left.

"You told Ben off, that's a good job." Phil grinned.

"Should have done it sooner." She said ruefully. "A lot sooner."

"Needed doing, you did it, that's what's count." Phil shrugged.

"Here." Charlotte held the bowl out to him. "Thought you could use a bit to eat out here, as long as I am cooking I might as well make sure that you fellows get fed as well."

"You know, this whole stakeout and shadowing stuff and all that is really not supposed to work this way." He said as he took the bowl. "Better not ever tell Ian about this or he'll give us an earful about it for sure. He'd say we're getting sloppy."

"For the moment he is not allowed to say any such things." Charlotte snorted. "He's the one that made this kind of thing necessary. If he says anything about it, I know of a few things I could tell him."

"You're good for him." Phil said as he gulped down the stew. "He's awfully lucky."

She grinned at the compliment. It was a compliment, especially coming from someone who was protective enough of Ian to stand on watch all hours of the day.

"He's lucky." She agreed. "And when he finds out what you have been doing he'll know just how lucky. If not I know what to do." She grinned as she took the empty bowl back.

"What?" Phil could not help but ask.

"Gregor mentioned something that sounded as if a baseball bat might be effective." She grinned.

Phil burst out laughing, they had all been claiming those things before.

Charlotte went back inside and began looking for something to occupy herself with. She had looked through the apartment briefly, but now she looked closer to see if there was anything she could use to kill time with. Nothing much, it was pretty much bare.

It did however have a few typical Ian touches over it, like the fact that you never knew what to expect from him. She did not know what she had thought that he would put on the walls, an X-man movie poster. She had not known that he enjoyed the X-men, but apparently he did. The writing was on the wall so to say.

She frowned a little when she noticed another poster, she really had not looked at the wall decorations before, and now she was really surprised. There was an actual size copy of the Declaration of Independence there, and why would Ian keep it on the wall when it had cost him so much. If it was to remind himself that he had failed she would jam it down his throat, and he would have to tell her why it was there.

The next poster was again an surprise. The Donald Duck Family Tree. She blinked. Now why did he have that on the wall? She sighed. To think that she had never read Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys because she disliked that kind of mysteries, and here she had a man that was a mystery incarnate. She sighed again, he also made her sigh a lot, and still she considered him worth it.

She studied the family tree for a moment, she had never considered their family ties before. It was just something that had never interested her at all.

Well, you could not stare at a poster for ever. She moved over to the bookcase, perhaps he had some interesting books.

Or perhaps not, nothing she would sit down and read because she enjoyed it at least. Some history text books. One frighteningly thick one about the history of the Knights Templar. Was that something that had to do with the treasure hunt again? She really had to talk with him about that.

The closest thing to interesting she found was a collection of hard cover comic books. Thick and heavy, a collection with several issues of Donald Duck in each. So it was true then that all men seemed to read those things. There were also a few normal issues lying there on a shelf, so she supposed that the poster had come from one of them.

She heard quiet footsteps behind her.

"Find anything interesting?" Ian asked her.

"I was looking for something to read." She explained. "You don't read much do you?"

"Not lately no, but I have read more at times." He shrugged.

She turned around to face him. "Why do you have that poster of that piece of paper on the wall Ian? And why do you have those books of the Knights Templar? What do you want to tell yourself with them? What are you trying to do."

"Tricky questions." He rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. "Ben bought that copy of the declaration, he used it to fool us, allowed us to get it and then he escaped. I think that it was a smart move of him, and I admit that I felt the fool for falling for it. I do however not have it there just to remind me that I was an idiot or anything. But when he spent thirty five dollars on it, it just seemed wrong to throw it away." He grinned sheepishly.

"So you have it there because he paid money for it." She crossed her arms over her chest.

"In a way yes." Now it was his turn to sight. "I guess that I just did not feel like throwing it away. At the time I thought that it would be stupid, just in case there would be a reference to the text on it somewhere, I do not like throwing away things that might come to use. Then, well, why not." He could not explain it better than that. He hoped that she was satisfied because he could not explain it any better than that.

"And those books?" She motioned to the books.

"I was interested in the Knights Templar long before I met Ben." Now he smiled, and she thought that that smile suited him very well. It made her lose her heart to him all over again, and she did not mind it a bit.

"My great aunt told me about the Knights when I was a young boy." He explained. "I only met her a few times, and then I spent a summer with her. She was old and a bit lonely, and my parents sent me there as company for her when I was seven. They thought it was a good way to keep me out of trouble for the summer, that way they would not have to take so much time to look after me. She told me about the Knights, and about a treasure and I spent the whole summer trying to find it. I even spent a night in an old wine cellar while looking for it."

"And she allowed you to do that?" Charlotte asked baffled, her father would never have allowed that.

"She did." Ian nodded. "I was never one for sitting still and waiting for the adults to tell me what to do, you know that. I took off with a sleeping bag, an electric torch and some other stuff, and I think she thought it was as much fun as I did. She trusted me not to do anything dangerous, and I was only away for one night. Then when I got back home she died and I have never been back there since."

"But you are still interested in the treasure." She stated and he nodded.

"That treasure that Ben was after, did you go along on that because you wanted to find at least one treasure if you could not find her treasure?" He nodded again and she shook her head.

"Oh Ian, you really are a fool." Yet she smiled when she said it. How many men would still be looking for a treasure that they had heard about when they were seven, not many more than Gates and Ian. "I guess that all boys likes to hunt for treasures." She said to soften her previous words.

He nodded absently. Remembering what his great aunt had told him about the treasure. How it had been hidden to keep it safe, how it had remained hidden for so long that no one really knew where to look for it anymore. She had told him that it had been a very big treasure.

Charlotte was looking on another shelf of the book case.

"A book about Scottish heritage and clan colours." She noted amused. "Does this as well have an interesting explanation? She pulled it out and flipped through it. It opened onto a page where one clan was mentioned. Yet there was no standard for the clan, no weapon shield or such like the others had had, it was just the name and about a page of general information.

"Are you interested in the McDowell clan?" Charlotte asked. ¨

"My great aunt came from it." Ian explained.

"So you are related to them then?" She smiled a little as she regarded him. "You have not told me that before."

"I'd rather not be associated with them at times." Ian moved over to the couch and sank down tiredly.

"Why not?" She put the book down before sitting down beside him.

"I am already a disgrace for the name Howe, I do not want to be the one that dragged the name of McDowell down as well. I do not want to be the one that ruined the record of a good family. I have been the black sheep and the disgrace for so long, and I do not want to ruin anything more with it. It is bad enough as it is by far."

"You are not a disgrace to anyone." She said quietly.

"Really?" He asked.

"You are not a disgrace." She repeated.

"Then my parents would be proud if they had known what I've done. My law abiding parents I might add. Very well respected, very honest." He sounded scornful. "Ah, yes, they would be so proud of knowing what their son did, no shame at all there. Why ever was I fretting over, the whole family line would be proud, all those McDowell's that always stood for what was right. All of them would be proud of having a petty thief carrying their name."

"Stop talking like this." She said angrily. "You're not a petty thief Ian."

He rose agitated and walked over to the window, leaning an arm against the window frame, touching his forehead against the glass.

"No?" He gave a low chuckle. "You do not read the papers then. It seems to me that anyone unfortunate enough to be wearing the name Howe is changing it for fear of being associated with me. And who can blame them. Though perhaps you are right, I never was a petty thief,

no I always went after the bigger things. I stole and destroyed the Declaration of Independence, haven't you heard?"

"Ian." She said sharply.

"Never mind." He waved a hand vaguely in the air. "Been there, done that. I know what you are going to say, and you are wrong." He turned around and pointed at his chest with his thumb. "I am the worst criminal in history, and right now, about half the population of this country are rueing the fact that the execution used on William Wallace is no longer in use."

"Be quiet Ian." She snapped. She rounded up on him furiously, and he actually took a step back, stumbling a little as he got the window ledge in his back.

"Do not say another word." She raged, and Ian suddenly saw how she had quieted Ben, he certainly did not have the guts to say anything more now. "Not another word Ian." She spat angrily, and the window ledge was really hard when it dug into your back like that.

Ian was no coward, but now he really wanted to flee. He wanted to flee badly, but she blocked the way to the door. He swallowed the lump that was suddenly in his throat hindering his breathing. He was pretty certain that she could see that he was close to terrified.

That was something new, he could recall the last time he had been that afraid, the first time that he had been called to the principal's office in school. It had been due to a fight he had participated in, and that had made him scared, because he had been told some stories about what the principal could do to you. After that first time he had learnt that the principal could not really do anything to you. Ian had been called to the office many times, but he had only been afraid that first one. He was afraid now, afraid of Charlotte's fury.

Luckily for him she backed off and he could move away from the window. She stood there a few metres away from him, and he was still nervous. He Ian, was nervous for a girl. Just that thought was very disconcerting.

"What are you thinking about now?" She asked.

"About the only other time I've been this scared." He blurted out before he could rein in his thoughts. That was about the last time he had spoken before he thought as well.

"When was that?" Now she sounded a little curious.

"When I was six or so and got called to the principal." Was it possible that she was taking him back to his childhood in some way. She certainly made him feel like a young errant boy.

"Why, I'd really like to know." She actually grinned now. "Come, sit down and let me find something out about you." He sat carefully on the edge of the couch, ready to flee.

"I was six and I had gotten into a fight on the school yard." He said.

She frowned. "That really is not a lot of information Ian. You can do better."

He shrugged and shifted, trying to find a more comfortable position. "They were bullies a few grades above me. I did not like what I saw them doing, so I made sure they knew that. Since I was the one who hit first I was the one who got blamed for starting it. It did not really matter to them that those kids had been beating up smaller kids before I took on them."

"So you got in trouble for that?" She asked, and she sounded concerned.

"I got in trouble for it." He nodded. "The principal called for me, and I had heard some nasty things about what the others said he did, but all he did when I was there was telling me that he strongly 'disapproved' of fighting. And that I should behave better in the future."

"And you did?" She asked. Distracting him from his previous line of thought was better than yelling at him for it, and it had the advantage that she found out things about his past.

"No, not really." He looked down at the floor. "I just made sure I learned things, whenever they got me for something I looked at how they got me, and then they could not do the same thing again. That time I got in trouble because I hit first, so after that I made sure that no one saw me hit first, and then I had not started it."

"Sound reasoning." She admitted. "Did you fight a lot?"

"No, not all that much. I just never allowed anyone to push me around." He smiled faintly. "I was stubborn and I did things my way. But I never really took sides either, so there were never anyone who had any real reason to dislike me."

"No one?" She asked. Strong people usually had enemies. It was just the way things were.

Ian did not answer at first, and Charlotte wondered whatever he would answer or not. She thought that he did not want to answer, for there he was, sitting and staring at the floor and did not appear to see a single thing.

"Charlotte, I was the one the kids went to when they wanted help with cheating or something. I was the one that pulled of all the tricks, the one that screwed the mid term test for an entire grade by gluing fire crackers in the type writers. I was the kid who got around all over the school and reset all the watches so that not a single one of them showed the same time. I was the one that forged notes from teachers to let other kids get out of doing things, that is what I did, no better than what I am doing now."

"You pulled pranks in school?" She asked him smiling, that sounded like the kind of things that everyone wanted to do, but most never dared to actually do it.

"Yes, I also helped some of them cheat because they paid me for it. I could have studied and gotten a scholarship, but instead I was seeing how much mischief I could get away with. The teachers thought it was a waste, and they were right."

She shook her head, what was the matter with him, did he have to look at everything he had ever did as if it was a failure, could he not see that he had done a whole lot of good things.

"Ian, if you are gonna make every question I ask you into a chance to make yourself look bad, then my earlier command of 'don't say a word' still stands."

He nodded absently.

"Shall we do something where you can not do that?" She asked. "You see I for one do not think that we will get very far by staring at the floor."

"How far do you intend to go?" Ian mumbled. "Do whatever you want."

"Okay, I can manage that." She grinned, Ian did not know what he was in for. She picked up the remote and turned the on the telly, clicking her way through the channels quickly until she found something promising. If there was anyone who could resist Willy the Coyote she had not yet met them. Once that was done she pulled him over so that he lay with his head in her lap.

"What are you doing?" He asked and sounding very confused, well that was what he would get for not specifying.

"Whatever I want." She grinned, but she spoke softly. "You gave me permission and I want to do this, so there is nothing you can do about it."

"I can get up." Still he made no move to.

"You can not, and you will not." She stroked his hair gently. It was long enough to really curl around her fingers, and she liked that. It was perfect for combing her fingers through it, and she loved doing that. She was willing to guess that he enjoyed it as well, at least he leaned into her touch, but then it also appeared that Ian had never gotten much physical affection. He might be responding to the fact that he was being offered that touch. Sometimes something as simple as a hug was enough to bring some people around because it was a luxury they had never really been allowed, and given Ian's childhood she doubted there had been to many hugs and cuddles. He had no doubt been loved, but not in a physical way. So now she took the opportunity to pet him a little.

They both laughed when Willy the Coyote went over the cliff, again, and again. He just never gave up.

"I love that scruffy Coyote." She said as he made an attempt to use a gigantic rubber band and an anvil to get his pray.

"He never seems to lack for ideas." Ian murmured with his eyes half closed. As much as he actually enjoyed watching the Roadrunner and the Coyote he was enjoying her hand in his hair even more. "But I would hate to get his bill from Acme when he has to pay for all that stuff."

Charlotte laughed, she had never thought about that before, and now it sounded so amusing. It had just been fun how all the things appeared, but now that she thought about it Ian had a point.

"His credit card must be badly overtaxed." She chuckled. "Poor Coyote, he'll have to pay off that debt for the rest of his life."

"S'not gonna be such an awful long time." Ian muttered as he watched him smash into the ground when the rubber band pulled him down from the cliff he had been clinging to. "Anyway I figure it would be worth it to him if he was able to catch that bird even once."

It was the end of that episode and there was commercials, Ian closed his eyes and ignored the telly. Charlotte was much more pleasant, he wondered if he should tell her how much he loved it when she ran her hands through his hair like that, but if he did it would certainly prove to be the wrong thing, it was best to do nothing. At least he hoped that it was the best thing to do, he did not really trust his instincts anymore.

* * *

This is the end of this chapter, I shall update again in two weeks, and keep the updates up every second week.

I want to thank everyone who read my earlier National Treasure story, thank you, all of you.

Here are review responses from my first story, again thank you, all of you:

Earendil Eldar: Ah, to know that my ah so faithful reader is pleased with me is pure bliss. I am truly glad that you liked it, even after having watched the movie. Not to mention that I am very happy that you agree with me about it, Ian did many wrong things, but so did Ben. It will be more than interesting when Abigail and Ben find just whom they are looking for, but that's in the future.

Jen Lennon: Legibility, legality, dyslexia does make writing interesting, ; ) Thanks for pointing it out to me, I have dyslexia, and sometimes spells wrong, my word processor then picks out the word it thought I meant, and gets rather wrong at times. I do my best to avoid those, but sometimes my beta miss them. One of my friends laughed for fifteen minutes finding out about that one. So thanks again for alerting me. I hope that you will enjoy this chapter as well, and that there is no such mistakes in it.

Lady Elbereth Tealrose: Ah, yes, you are indeed very patient, and a very good Padawan, if you are a good apprentice and leave a nice review, I'll teach you a new curse word. Joking, but since you are such a good apprentice, scout, and little sister as well, I do hope you enjoy this chapter.

Lazaefair: Ben is a bit dense yes, he has considered his actions, but he has not stopped to see if they would have the affect he thought they would. Ben and Ian has much to work out, and it is not something that will be easy, Ben is caught up with his things, while Ian needs to deal with his ghosts, and until they have both worked that out, I doubt they could be friends. I'm glad you enjoy the dialogue, as I think that is rather important, plot twists are interesting, most often because they lend a view you might not have considered before. Two separate people rarely see the same thing the same way, so who can truly tell what will happen here. Not even I can at times, and I'm the one writing here. I'm ever so glad you like it though.

Forever Faramir: I hope very much that it was worth the time to read this, I do not doubt you shall like it, but I still hope very much that you do. I love to write when I know you will be reading it, it makes it all so much more worthwhile. Thank you again for the support I know I have from you.


	5. I Like How The Coyote Never Gives Up

Author's note: This is based on the movie National Treasure, and is to a great deal dedicated to the more than worthy performance of Sean Bean. I enjoyed the movie very much, but I thought that since Ben and Ian often used similar methods to reach the same goal, I did not see one of them as more evil than the other. I also thought that the hints of the friendship we saw between them should be explored more. I began doing that in 'Who Did You Say Stole the Declaration,' this story takes up a short time after that one ended, and is my version of what happened next. I hope you all shall like it.

Big thanks to LadyDeb1970 who have been going over this for me, and helped me with plot and story ideas. Also to Celebrion for being my beta.

Disclaimer: I do not own National Treasure. I just borrowed it because I like Sean Bean as an actor. I will return all characters in good and whole order, completely undamaged, if covered with a slight glue residue from having been put together again. I also swear I will not make any serious attempt at stealing Ian. More than I already have that is…

The name of Thomas McDowell have been stolen from LadyDeb1970, with her kind permission, as well as one or two other details.

/Elenhin

* * *

Chapter 5, **_I Like How The Coyote Never Gives Up_**

"You know, I think that Ian has just gotten the luckiest he'll ever get." Phil said thoughtfully when Victor came to relieve him.

"She's nice alright." Victor nodded.

"Came out with food for me even. She'll be taking good care of him." Phil grinned.

"Seems to have the patience for it." Victor said thoughtfully. "How'd you suppose she got that. Takes a lot to talk him around when he's set on something."

"I do not think she ever gives him a chance to object." Phil grinned as he leaned against the wall. "She just tells him what she wants, and then she does not listen to any objections."

"You think we should have done that?" Victor frowned, he could not really imagine ordering Ian around, or even telling him what he should do, suggest something, yes. Ian encouraged them to say what they thought, and he always listened, but he made the final decision.

Phil had come to much the same conclusion, none of them could ever tell Ian what to do, Shaw did during special circumstances, and then Ian would obey, but that was really a rare occurrence, and almost always when something had not gone as planned and Shaw stepped in between Ian and some danger.

"No, Ian's our boss. We do not order him around, not unless it's really, really bad. And I doubt that he would have thanked us for it. Better let her handle him, and be ready to step in if she thinks we should."

Victor chuckled. "Yeah, even if we tried to order him around like she does, as soon as he told us to back down, we'd just be obeying again."

Phil laughed, Victor was right, they were all of them too used to obey Ian to do anything else. They had been together for a long time.

When Ian had taken on Shaw, he had also taken on them, and they were grateful for it. Had they been on their own they would have long since been caged like errant birds, instead they had prospered, for Ian had known how to make money grow. Even if they had not always known what all his investments were about.

"See ya later." Phil grinned as he headed back. They each took a shift in turn and no one minded the lone hours in the night. It was not the first time they had taken shifts to keep watch, they had done it many times before, and so there was no need to worry, they all knew the how to do it properly.

* * *

"So, am I gonna find out anything about you, or am I gonna be the only one revealing things?" Ian stood facing away from her, because he was not sure whatever he dared face her as he made the request or not. He was not sure how she would react to it, so instead he stood leaning against the wall, and tracing the branches on the Donald Duck family tree with one finger. Standing on the side of it the light reflecting on it made it difficult to see the pictures on the name, but he only wanted something to do.

"What do you want to know about me?" Charlotte asked. She was not going to appear like if she did not want to tell him things, in fact she was happy that he asked. Even if he could have appeared more interested when he asked.

"If I knew I would not have to ask." He murmured.

"Okay then, basic information, how does that sound? He nodded so she supposed that it was sufficient. "You have met my father, he raised me since he and mother separated when I was twenty or so. I do not know what made her leave, but the last I heard she was halfway around the world, and I do not really care. Since dad was lonely after she left I continued to live there with him. We share the same interests and passions, and so I guess you can say that I work for him at times. I was never one of the smart kids in school but I suppose that I did well enough. Truth to tell I was just too stubborn for getting good grades the first few years."

"How do you mean?"

She smiled, at least he was curious since he asked that.

"I thought that it was the utter waste of time. So I never bothered to do any homework or studying. My mother was quite upset over it, but dad figured I would be coming around, and I did. High School and forward I did quite well, and I never had any trouble in College. I enjoyed that time very much. I liked College for even when I studied there was time to do the things I enjoyed the most. I even was a scribbler for the school paper."

"Sounds interesting." He nodded, but his voice was flat and there was not really any emotion in it. "What did you write about?"

"Pretty much anything that I wanted to write about." She smiled, at least he listened, or he would just have said 'tell me more.' "I wrote about who had won what, what some people were doing, what I thought would interest them. And sometimes I wrote about historical things. I was usually the one to write the book and movie reviews. I enjoyed reading a lot."

"What kind of books?"

It was odd how he appeared not to be listening even when he asked the right questions, he was just standing there and tracing something on the poster with his finger. It was really strange to be talking with someone who stood like that.

"Most of it was what others though were boring things. I read Les Miserables, and the Three Musketeers. Then I read Around the World in Eighty Days, and other such things. What kind of books did you read?"

"I read Tow Sawyer once." He murmured. He did not really feel like talking, and so he had hoped that she would do the talking.

"You did not read very much?" She asked, hoping that he would tell her what he had read as a young boy.

He shook his head, not even voicing his answer.

"I quite enjoyed Tow Sawyer when I read it." She went on, but he said nothing more on the subject. Instead he was still tracing patterns on that poster. She decided to ask a question that would relate to it. "Did you prefer Donald Duck when you were younger then?"

He nodded and she gave up, he obviously would not decided to be talkative all of a sudden. So she relented and told him more things about herself instead. Until she decided that it was time for him to be hungry. Charlotte did not ask, instead she went out into the kitchen and made mashed potatoes with sausages. It was easiest not to give him a choice. Just put the plate in front of him and tell him to eat. That way there was no fuss, even if she would have preferred if he ate at least half of it.

Nothing to do about it though, more than clench her teeth shut in a vain attempt not to say anything about it. It was really all she could do, and it was not an easy task.

* * *

Ian retreated to bed, he wanted to be alone, he was not tired, but he needed to be alone for a moment. He liked Charlotte, very much, and he appreciated the fact that she took time to be with him, he knew that she was giving up her private life to some extent, because of him.

Ah, but he was not used to having someone around him all the time. He and his men had stuck together, but they had never chafed against each other whenever they moved. There had always been room to breathe, and they had had the easy relationship between a group of males.

Mock fights over the remote, groans and growls over everything. Merciless teasing at every opportunity. He was used to that, he was not used to having someone looking at him every tenth second to make sure that all was well.

He was not used to it, and it was unerring.

Not to mention the fact that he never knew when Charlotte would snap at him for saying something he had no idea would be interpreted the way she did. She'd just suddenly snap her fangs and he felt lucky to escape with all limbs still intact.

That woman had sharp teeth and no mistake about it.

It was bothersome not to be able to sleep, for Ian's mind tended to go into an over active mode whenever he was idle, and he really did not want to think about anything. Yet how did one not think, he had not yet managed that, and he had tried many times. Whenever there was something he would rather not think about, like losing Shaw, and there he went again.

Angrily he pounded his fist into the mattress. Though a soft mattress is really not very satisfying as a means of physical punishment, and so he aimed for the wall instead.

It certainly was more of a punishment he thought as his hand throbbed, unfortunately it did not work to well as an distraction method. Not after he thought about how Shaw would have chided him for it.

He flopped down onto his back, Ian might do that, had done that at times. Struck out at an solid object in anger. The second before he reined in control over his thoughts and temper again. Then he might lash out like that, as he had done in the van when he realised that Ben had tricked him with a copy of the declaration. He did that because he needed that split second of anger, to clear his thoughts, and he did not like lashing out on his men.

He would not lash out at those who were around him, he refused to shout at them in anger, for it was nothing of their making, and so they were blameless and it would be wrong to take it out on them.

Instead he would pound a fist into something, and then Shaw would chide him later. With a meaningful glance at either scraped or bruised knuckles he would tell Ian that he should not punish himself, for it not his fault any more than it was their fault, and that they needed Ian to get any further, and would he please stop hurting himself.

Because Shaw had sworn to take vengeance if Ian was ever harmed, and how, just how did Ian think it would look if Shaw tore down a poor wall that had really done nothing wrong, but merely happened to stand in the way when Ian decided that he wanted to see which was hardest, his hand or the wall.

Then when the others were chuckling and grinning Shaw would claim that if Ian wanted to be a sure winner over the brick wall when it came to hardness, he should just ram his head against it instead of his hand.

It always worked, Ian would laugh, and then they would move on.

He guessed that it was time to move on now, the throbbing in his hand was fading away, so by now Shaw would be hinting that it was time to move on, but where should he go?

* * *

"What are you doing up? I thought that you went to bed?"

He stood by the window and looked out at a deserted street, and suddenly he heard Charlotte's voice behind him.

"I did." He mumbled. He had read a few books, he had read 'Rumble Fish.' He recalled a line from that book. 'They would follow you anywhere.' He also recalled the reply. 'That would be great, if I only knew where to go.' His men had followed him wherever he went, and it had done them no good. He supposed that no man should follow another man.

"Why are you not still there?" Charlotte asked, but she could sense the brooding mood that seemed to have come over him.

"I can't sleep, and I was thinking." He said softly. "I don't know where to go, and last time I thought that I knew it proved to be all wrong."

"We never know in advance Ian." She shook her head, even if he was not looking at her. It did not really matter if he were or not, it was just a habitual gesture. "If we knew the future in advance we would never make any mistakes, or wild gestures, but we can not know what will come of the choices we make. We can only do what we think is right and hope for the best. There is no magic mirror to look into to see if it is right or not. Life is trial and error."

"Then other people pay for your mistakes." He said bitterly. "I did not have the sense to back down, and look what came out of it. Just because I decided that I wanted something. It was I who wanted it. Not Shaw, not Victor, not Gregor or Phil. It was I. I should never have dragged them into it. I was the stupid one, and they followed me."

"And if they had not been following you, what then?" She challenged. "Where would they be then?" She struggled not to look out the other window, the one where one could see a shadow keeping vigil if you knew just where to look.

"They would never have gotten into this mess, that is what matters." He said flatly, as if he tried to convince himself of it.

"They would most likely be in some other mess, one where there was no one who cared a whit about them." Charlotte stated firmly, and she knew she was right. They were the kind of men who usually got into trouble, and if not Ian, then they would have followed someone else, or gone on their own. "You care about them Ian, and that is more than some would've done."

"What do you know about it?" He turned around to face her.

She bit her lip, she could not say that she had met them, she could not. "I know you Ian, and I know Ben. And I know that your men were better of with you than they would have been with Ben. For you put them before yourself."

"And still I failed them all." He shook his head and turned back to the window. "I do not even know what they are doing. They got money enough, I made sure about that, but I do not know what they are doing." He slammed his fist against the wall again. "I bloody failed them." That gesture of rage before he again gained control was becoming a bit too frequent. He missed the way Shaw would be there to take him to task about it.

"Brilliant move." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Now if you would tell me what good it does I'll let you continue."

"I failed them." He burst out.

"And that is reason to treat a poor wall so cruelly. I had higher thoughts about you then a pitiful wall-abuser."

It was not Shaw, it was not the way he spoke. It was in fact very different from the things Shaw would say, but it was still the response Shaw would have had. It was the look on her face, not at all the raised eyebrows that Shaw would make to point out to him that it really was not the most brilliant thing in his career. No, her shin shot forward in a challenge should he dare to defy her, but it was still the same reaction.

Ian burst out laughing, desperately and until his knees no longer supported him but he slid down the wall to sit on the floor. She still stood there, arms crossed and looking so stern, and he could not stop laughing.

Eventually he was forced to stop for a second, long enough to draw a breath, he laughed and gasped for breath before he was finally able to stop laughing.

"I was not really aware that I said something so funny." She stated then. Still standing there with her arms crossed and just looking at him.

"For a moment there you were so alike Shaw." He managed, smiling fondly at the memory. "And yet nothing like him at the same time. He would always be saying something stupid then, but he would never say that. He would say that if I wanted the wall gone I could have asked him to do it, or I should use my head, so that I at least did not damage something useful. I guess that I just miss him to think it so funny."

"You miss him." She nodded. "But you are thinking the wrong way. Think of what was good, focus on what was good." Then she raised a finger to stop him. "Not now." She articulated. "You are not in the right mind to think about anything. If you can not sleep, then we can always watch the twenty four hour cartoons, for with them there is no need to think, and you are not allowed to think until you can do it right."

He could not argue with her anymore than he could argue with Shaw, and so he nodded, crawled up from the floor and followed her to watch Popeye the Sailor.

It was amazing to see how much you could do if you only ate your spinach it seemed.

"I still prefer the Coyote." He said out loud for no particular reason.

"Why?" Charlotte had a reason for asking, but she kept it to herself. She just had a feeling that she knew what he would say.

"I just like the way he never gives up I guess." He shrugged, and she could have jumped with joy, he had said exactly what she had thought he would. "Popeye just eats a can of spinach, and then nothing is a trouble anymore, he uses brute force." Ian went on. "That Coyote, no matter how many setbacks he suffers, he just picks up again and goes on. A new idea, a new expensive order from Acme, and he is set to try again, he does not quit."

Finally something that she could use to make him see reason, but not now, not while he was for once calm and not agitated. She would however be sure to recall it for future use when he said that he should have quit before he did.

They watched as Popeye was replaced with Scooby-Doo. Then came Top Cat, and the Centurions, and Charlotte fell asleep sitting beside Ian.

Ian however still could not sleep, so he watched the cartoons until the Power Puff girls came on, that was more than he could take and so he switched the channel. How could anyone stand to watch that, it had been just awful.

When Charlotte awoke her back was stiff, sleeping on a couch really was not the greatest idea, even if it was rather nice to lean against Ian after you had slid down in your sleep. In fact she actually liked that. He was very comfortable.

"Did you sleep well?" She murmured, not wanting to get up. Ian was to nice to snuggle against for her to want to get up.

He shifted uncomfortably and she sighed. "Did you sleep at all?"

Again he shifted, and that was just not comfortable. Nothing to do about it though, she supposed that he really was suffering insomnia, for she could not believe that he had remained awake for the sake of it.

"Next time I shall have to make sure that you fall asleep before I do." She muttered as she rose, he was shifting again, and squirming pillows were just obnoxious. "I'll make some breakfast." She said as he stretched. "Do you have any preference for breakfast, or will you try to avoid eating whatever I make?" She made sure that the teasing tone was clear in her voice. Better to tease than to scold. Better to make it a joking matter than something too serious.

"I've never been picky." He offered with a half smile. He had never been too picky with what he ate no, there were several things that he preferred not to eat, but he would eat anything if it was offered him. He could eat the fine food offered by an indecently expensive restaurant, and he could eat what was served in the shabby areas around the docks. He was not one to refuse food because the table cloth was not clean enough.

Food was food, and that was enough. He just was not hungry, even if the scrambled eggs with bacon and toast were really quite tasty. Something that he would normally not only have eaten, but enjoyed as well.

He tried to choke down another forkful of it, just because he actually appreciated what she was doing for him.

Charlotte saw him do it, she noticed how he had seemed to lay down the fork, then try another bite, and she saw how he struggled to swallow it. Because he actually tried to eat more she did not say anything about eating too little. She could not expect him to do more than what he had done, and she was really pleased with the progress.

If Ian cared enough to try and eat more, than he surely would eat more soon. As he got used to eating again that last bite would no longer be a struggle, and eventually he would eat more.

* * *

This is the end of this chapter, I shall update again in two weeks, and keep the updates up every second week.

I want to thank everyone who read my earlier National Treasure story, thank you, all of you.

Here are review responses from my first story, again thank you, all of you:

Earendil Eldar: It's not easy for Ian, I can agree with that, the poor thing is really berating himself over losing Shaw. Ian is the kind that blames himself, and tries to subconsciously punish himself for it. He is a very sweet lad though. Ah, computers, I got the back up computer working at last, but not when I updated last. Now I am waiting for them to repair it so that I can get it back.

Jen Lennon: Yes, Ian and Charlotte are getting to know each other quite well, Charlotte likes Ian and she is not about to give him up. Um, yes, it is a good sign that Ian enjoys it when she plays with his hair, he deserves to get some of that unconditional love.

Evermir: Aye, thou art mad, and I love you for it. You know how much it means to me that you liked it, and poor Button shall have to pardon. Trust me, I know the looks they can give you, and I love her very much. She shall just have to pardon that I will continue writing, give her an extra cuddle and a belly scratch from me to make it up to her. Charlotte is very protective of the ones she loves, and she is not giving Ian much slack about anything, she had after all been looking up him a bit before she went to meet him. Sort of checking over the stuff before taking them, and she will not give him up easily.

Lady Elbereth Tealrose: Always happy to teach my padawans new useful things. Aye, Charlotte can get very, very angry at times. She can be rather hot tempered. I'm glad you like the details, I try to make it fun to read, and I try to be witty, so it is great to hear that I do it right once in a while.

Celebwen Telcontar: Ian is good, but he does not have any straight clearly marked line of what is good and bad, I don't think he can see things that way. For something like that, and for someone like her, he would not ever recognize that there was a line. You made a very fine portrayal on it, very good. I liked that song before, and after how you made it there, I love it. I wish I had it, but sadly I don't think that I do. Thomas McDowell and Ian are very closely related, I can tell you that much. I am please to hear that you like how I wrote Ian, I am thrilled to hear you think him realistic, but your version is NOT pitiful, it is just as good as mine. I liked your take on him very much.

SeanBeansChick29: Aye, poor Ian is a bit angsty, and I feel much sympathy for him, being the sweet lad he is. I'm very happy that you like it, and I don't intend to stop writing. This story is written in full, and I am currently working on a sequel.

Dark angel nine: You already should know how much it means to me that you think this worth catching up on, if not, know it now. It means a lot to me. I hope that you enjoy it.


	6. the master chef

Author's note: This is based on the movie National Treasure, and is to a great deal dedicated to the more than worthy performance of Sean Bean. I enjoyed the movie very much, but I thought that since Ben and Ian often used similar methods to reach the same goal, I did not see one of them as more evil than the other. I also thought that the hints of the friendship we saw between them should be explored more. I began doing that in 'Who Did You Say Stole the Declaration,' this story takes up a short time after that one ended, and is my version of what happened next. I hope you all shall like it.

Big thanks to LadyDeb1970 who have been going over this for me, and helped me with plot and story ideas. Also to Celebrion for being my beta.

Disclaimer: I do not own National Treasure. I just borrowed it because I like Sean Bean as an actor. I will return all characters in good and whole order, completely undamaged, if covered with a slight glue residue from having been put together again. I also swear I will not make any serious attempt at stealing Ian. More than I already have that is…

The name of Thomas McDowell have been stolen from LadyDeb1970, with her kind permission, as well as one or two other details.

/Elenhin

* * *

**_The Biggest Treasure_**

_**Chapter 6, the master chef**_

"Are you gonna tuck me into bed?" Ian asked, just a tad worriedly, from what he had seen this far she really might do that. He was fairly certain that he did not really care for the idea. When was the last time he had been tucked into bed?

The time when Shaw had forcedly pushed him into bed and held him down until he fell asleep did not count. That had been a hellish week when Shaw had done that. They were working on a time limit, and everything that could go wrong was going wrong, he had worked desperately to fix it, and then Shaw had forced him to sleep for a few hours.

They had pulled it off.

The last time he could recall then, was when he was ten or eleven and sick. Then his mother had tucked him in. Before that he had gone to bed on his own. He would say goodnight to his parents, and then go to bed, there was no need to fuss about it.

Charlotte shook her head, trying to hide a smile that he still saw. "No, I don't think that I have to. But you should try to sleep some."

"In the middle of the afternoon?" He objected. He had never been one for afternoon naps either.

"You did not sleep before. You need it." Then she smiled softly. "Just lay down a little and relax, okay?"

Reluctantly he gave in, if only so that she would stop insisting on it, that alone made it worth it. There were also the benefit of solitude.

"Ill go out for a few groceries in the meantime." She said softly and brushed his cheek with a kiss.

It was nice, she could do that again he decided. He enjoyed those things it appeared. He also went a long as far as lie down on his bed, but again he did not sleep. However he was able to think about more pleasant things than what he had before, and so it was not a torture to lie there, in fact it was relaxing.

"I went by the library too." She said when she got back. "So I took the opportunity to get something to read."

"Given up hope on my books?" He asked with a half smile. Sitting up on the mattress. She knew he had not slept, she could tell and he knew that.

"Yes." She nodded with a smile. "Though I did get one or two for you as well." She handed him a rather thick book.

"Tom Sawyer." He read the title, then glanced up at her face.

"It was the one you said you liked." She teased him. "You mean to say that you don't?"

He shrugged. "Better than some other crap, but I've not read that book since I turned fifteen."

"Time to read it again then." She dropped it on the mattress beside him. "Don't worry, I got you something that should be more to your taste." She gave him a stack of the comic albums. "I do not know much about those though, so I had to guess." She cautioned.

Ian looked through the stack and noted the titles. "Lucky Luke, a classic. And so is Beetle Bailey. Rick O'Shay, I have not seen that one in years, but it is a very funny one"

Charlotte gave him a baffled look. "You mean I picked some good ones, I just grabbed a few at random, I have no idea what they are."

"They are good ones." Ian nodded. "I especially like Rick O'Shay, it is a Western of sorts. Not the classical one though, it is really an absurd humour."

She chuckled. "Maybe I should try to read it then."

"Do that." Ian noted flicking through the pages. "Just look at this one."

Charlotte looked at the picture of a gun fighter in front of a mirror, the very classic one, the gun fighter had a thin moustache, and then he drew, and the mirror image was faster. The gun fighter dropped his guns and the image in the mirror grinned victoriously at him. She chuckled, it was funnier than she would have expected.

"I think that I actually will read it." She admitted. "Not now though. I am gonna make supper, and you are going to eat, understood?"

He nodded, given the number of times she had pointed it out to him he had understood very well, it could not be avoided.

"You know that you should tell me what you like." Charlotte said on the way to the kitchen. "All I have to go by this far is sausages. Can you tell me anything else you like?" He got up from the bed and followed her, it would be easier to talk that way.

"Macaroni and tomato glop." He said hopefully. He wonder how she would react to that.

"What is macaroni and tomato glop?" She frowned. "It hardly sounds appetizing."

"It is something I made at times as a kid." He explained. "It is macaroni, and then you just take a tin of tomatoes, pour it into a pot and add in whatever else you find in the pantry that you want in it. Sort of using up left over food."

"And you like that?" She paused, he had no idea what she was making, but there were a package that looked like some thin slices of meat, and then there was bacon and onions, and rice. He supposed that could be made into something, but he had no idea of what.

He shrugged again. "It was easy to make. I'm not particularly good at cooking, so I stick to simple things. The worst I could do with that was overcooking the macaroni."

"It does not sound too good to me, but then again it might be the name, glop." She frowned over the name as she peeled the onion.

"It was glop." He defended himself. "Might as well call it that then."

"Well, I do not think that I would like to eat something called glop." She suppressed a shudder. Glop was what you called the school food, that was glop, and it was disgusting. "We'll see how you like this, and then we'll see which one you prefer."

"I think that I'd prefer anything you made to anything I made." He said honestly. "I have no problem eating my own cooking, but the others pretty much refused to after the first time."

"Let me guess." Charlotte chuckled as she diced the onion into small pieces, the bacon was cut into similar pieces, and water was put to boil for the rice. "You made them glop."

He gave her a guilty grin and nodded.

"And they did not like it." Charlotte guessed and laughed as he again grinned guiltily.

It had been in the beginning, they had only been together for a short time, and had decided to do some real cooking for some time. After the first year they were all rather tired of pizza and hamburger.

They had decided that it should not be too hard to do some real cooking, and that they should take turns at it. Knowing about his limited kitchen skills Ian had decided on something simple, an improvised chilli. How hard could that be, beans, tomatoes, unions and some other stuff all in one pot. He had done that for himself at times, thought Ian was used to the various odd tastes that would occur when he missed something.

Like the fact that not any kinds of beans fitted into it, the tin had said beans, so he had just tipped it into the 'witch cauldron' as it was later referred to. Apparently there had also been too much garlic, and not enough meat.

He could still recall the look on Shaw's face after he had first tried it.

"You trying to poison us on purpose, or is it accidental?" Shaw asked as he pushed his plate away.

_Ian did not know what to say, so he shrugged and gave a guilty smile. _

"_Poison?" Gregor frowned at his plate and stirred the glop looking stuff with his form. Ian himself was the only one who had taken more than the first mouthful." _

"_Don't know what it is, but I doubt it's food." Victor agreed as he lifted a forkful and then allowed it to slid back to his plate. _

"_When were you going to tell us that you are the master chef?" Shaw asked grinning at Ian, he loved an opportunity to tease, and this was a perfect one. _

"_I've never made anything so bad I've not been able to eat it." Ian defended himself. "You guys are too picky."_

"_No, we've just got self preservation." Shaw supplied while he gathered in the plates, including Ian's. Ian would have liked to continue eating, he was hungry, but Shaw dumped all of it out. "Gregor, get something over here will you, I don't care what long as it's edible."_

"_Right." Gregor went to order Chinese on the phone. _

"_It was not all that bad, no need to throw it out." Ian objected, Shaw's throwing it all away had been just a little insulting. _

_Shaw seemed to note that, and he refrained from more teasing._

"_I could have choked it down." He said seriously. "No worse than that, but no offence, it wasn't good, and I just prefer something else instead." _

_It was when they were still getting to know each other to some extent, they were a bit careful with their teasing and their banter. No one wanted to say anything that would be offensive. When Shaw had seen that Ian would not be offended he proceeded to do some more teasing. _

"_Let's just face it, you've got the sharpest brain I've ever seen, but if I want to be around long enough to make any use of that, I had better not let you cook anything."_

_All of them burst out laughing, Shaw had hit right on the mark, and even Ian could not help but laughing. _

"_Ye know though." Victor grinned. "If we ever need to take out someone, all we need to do is get Ian to cook for the bugger." They were still laughing when the Chinese food arrived. _

"They never allowed me to do the cooking again if they could avoid it." Ian admitted. "Usually it would be Phil, he was the best one at it. We all had our different areas of expertise."

"I can cook a decent meal." Charlotte said with a proud smile. "I took cooking lessons in school once. And I turned out to be rather good at it."

He could see that, she was fast and effective with her preparations. She made small bundles of the meat, with the onion and the bacon inside them, and using tooth picks to make sure they did not open. While the rice boiled she fried them in a pan, and then she made gravy.

It looked quite good, and smelled good as well. Maybe he was not able to eat very much of it, but he could actually enjoy what he ate, and he thought that that was a good thing.

"You are most definitely a better cook than me." He said afterwards.

"Thank you." Charlotte smiled. She was very pleased with herself, he had eaten just a little more than the evening before, and that was not bad, he also appeared more relaxed, but she supposed that his mood would change back and forth for some time.

When he was in a good mood like now he would most likely eat more, but she doubted that those moments of self doubt and depression were over, and then he would fall back into only pushing the food around.

"How about we see if we can find a movie or something to watch?" Charlotte asked as she cleared everything away. Keeping him distracted from his brooding was a good idea. Keeping his mind at least partially occupied with something else.

They settle in front of the telly and searched through the channels.

"Don't think that there will be much on." Ian muttered as he had searched through a bunch of them, and the most exciting thing he came up with was a commercial.

"Should be something." Charlotte shrugged.

Ian clicked though a few more channels. "Nothing, nothing and surprisingly nothing." He noted, then he saw something else. "Or here might be something."

"The three Musketeers." Charlotte said with a pleased grin. "One of the thousands versions they have made of that book, and I rather think that this is the best one."

"Good enough to watch then." Ian laid down the remote, or he would probably start clicking though the channels again out of habit, and he had a feeling she would not like that. If he had the remote in his hand, he would be clicking through the various programmes, if he laid it down, he could watch one.

He also had to admit that it was a very amusing movie, they had been lucky enough to catch it in the beginning, and he quite enjoyed it. After that movie there were commercials again, but they continued watching because the narrator voice said that Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves would be after the commercials. A movie that they had both seen before, but it was not one of the worse movies. In fact, since Ian had seen it before Charlotte hoped that she would be able to coax him into sleeping.

While they watched she decided that it was time for a little more physical contact, she had not been certain whether Ian would like that or not, but she would never know unless she tried, and she had an idea of how to make him relax.

"Turn around a little, will you?" She said softly.

Ian gave her a curious look but shifted around like she had asked him to. She began kneading his neck and shoulders, he was tense, very tense. She was willing to guess that he had been feeling some pain in his back and shoulders, well, she knew what to do about that.

Ian actually relaxed beneath her hands, even if he sometimes shifted when she found a painful knot, trying to move away from it.

"Relax." She said softly. "You'll feel better if I can loosen the knots, trust me."

Ian groaned as she worked on one between his shoulder blades, but at least he did not shift to the side. His shoulders and neck were the worst, but as she continued the massage he relaxed a little more.

Watching the screen with half closed eyes and not shifting at all beneath her hands.

It took her some time, but eventually he fell asleep, she stroked her hands over his back so that the removal of her hands would not be sudden enough to wake him, then she brushed his hair out of the way and placed a soft kiss to the nape of his neck.

She carefully moved a bit and allowed his body to slid down after her so that he was lying with his head in her lap, thinking that it would be more comfortable for him than if he was sitting, and there was no use massaging away the knots in his muscles just to let him gather new ones as he slept.

It was another victory, she had found a way to make him sleep. She was actually quite proud of herself for it.

* * *

Ian awoke, and that was the first time he knew that he had fallen asleep. Oddly enough he seemed to have slept well, it surprised him a little, for it was a long time since the last time.

He recalled watching that Robin Hood movie, frowning because he did not recall it as the kind of movie that was so boring that it put you to sleep. It might not be as exciting as the 'Men in Tights' version of the same tale, that one kept you awake because you could not stop laughing long enough to fall asleep. 'The Prince of Thieves' had its own bright sides.

Basically a rather well thought out story line, even if he much preferred the actor choice for the comedy version. They had a point, for once they had a point, he preferred a Robin Hood who could speak with a British accent over one who clearly had an American one.

Then again that might have to do with the fact that Ian himself was British, and his accent was quite clear at times. He could even it out when he wanted to appear more American, but mostly he was very much British, even if that did not mean he was drinking tea all the time, thank you very much. Not all British were addicted to tea.

Some people seemed to think so though. Step into a café in the States, and as soon as they heard your accent they were telling you about what kinds of tea they had. He decided that the stupidity of certain people and their prejudice could wait. It was certainly not something that would suddenly go away.

Whatever came to pass, stupidity would most certainly prevail.

Instead there were other things that he wanted to ponder, the fact that he was waking on the couch did not bother him at all. He had gotten used to waking on random places lately. The scarce times he had nodded of the last time had often been there, and even in the kitchen. What was disturbing was the fact that it appeared to be morning. The movie had been the late movie, but not that late, he should easily have been able to sleep for a few hours without it turning into daylight again, and yet it was daylight now, how long had he slept?

He rose to sitting and rolled his shoulders, another odd thing, that movement usually hurt, it still did, but not as much as it should given that he had been sleeping on the couch. Usually the kinks in his shoulders was nearly unbearable painful when he had slept in some strange position.

He rubbed a hand over his eyes and pondered whether he should get up or not, he decided that he should head to the bathroom, and that meant he had to get up.

Coming back from the bathroom he encountered Charlotte, he was getting oddly used to that he reflected, it no longer gave him a start to encounter someone else there. Or rather it did no longer give him a start to encounter someone who was not male, and also not a member of his gang.

"Slept well?" Charlotte asked cheerfully.

"I think so." He admitted. "At least I think that I've slept."

"You've slept." She chuckled and gave him a pecking kiss on his cheek. "Are you ready for some breakfast. It'll be ready in just a few minutes."

That was something that he was not used to, he reflected as she headed out into the kitchen. He and his men had never, never given each other a good morning kiss, never. He did however not mind that she did it. He followed her out into the kitchen because there was not much else to do.

Before long she had out two full plates on the table. She really knew her way around the kitchen, he had to give her that. He had not known that there was anything in his pantry that could be made into food, he had certainly not bothered to look for some time. If she had found anything there it would have had to be pure luck.

He guessed that whatever she cooked was what she had bought yesterday when she had been out.

"Would it be possible to force you out on a walk today?" She asked when she cleared away the dishes.

"Go where?" He asked.

"Just a walk, some fresh air." Charlotte smiled at her, and he supposed that it was the least he could agree to. He nodded.

She did not waste any time dragging him outside, it was a rather pleasant day he supposed. The sun was shining, and it was warm enough without being too hot. He supposed that he should be enjoying it, but he was not sure whether he did or not. He was not the kind of outdoor person who would go floundering around for the sake of it, he had nothing against being outdoors, quite the opposite, but he preferred to be outdoors for a reason. Not just because there was an outdoors to be in.

Charlotte sneaked her arm around his waist. "Come, cheer up a little and I'll buy you an ice cream." She grinned with that teasingly wicked grin of hers. The one you would expect from Han Solo but not from Princess Leia.

"Are you trying to bribe me with an ice cream?" He asked giving her a doubtful look. He was not aware of it, but Charlotte thought it was the kind of doubtful look that Luke Skywalker might make when Han Solo introduced one of his more stranger plans.

Charlotte grinned at him. "If it would work I'd be more than willing to bribe you with ice cream, yes."

He raised his eyebrows. "What if I said I'd rather have a balloon?" He asked to tease her.

Charlotte felt like crying out with joy, the fact that he was teasing and bantering meant that he was feeling better, it had to, and if only a little one, it was a step in the right direction.

"I'd say that you could have one or the other, but not both." She stated firmly but with a wide smile.

Ian chuckled and they laughed both of them.

Charlotte who gladly took the smallest excuse to buy herself an ice cream thought that Ian was certainly a both good enough and big enough excuse, and so last no time dragging him over to an ice cream stand. Spying something else a short distance of she told him to wait and hurried of. Leaving him with an ice cream in each hand.

Ian had no idea of what she was doing, but he had been told to wait, and so that seemed to be a rather good idea. He leaned against a lamp post and waited, eating his ice cream and watching how hers began to melt slightly, then he looked at her doubtfully as she returned. She held a string in her hand, a string that was attached in a blue balloon, and he had never thought that she would get one.

She presented it to him with a grin. "Do you want me to tie it to your button hole?" She asked with a teasing grin. It was the thing you did with children who were to small to hold on to it on their own.

Before he even had time to answer there was a string tied to the button hole on his jacket, the one that was above the zipper, and it had to look quite silly with a grown man who had a balloon tied to his jacket. He decided to leave it, it should teach people not to think that they knew what to expect all the time. She took back her ice cream with a grin as they began walking back.

This is the end of this chapter, I shall update again in two weeks, and keep the updates up every second week.

I want to thank everyone who read my earlier National Treasure story, thank you, all of you.

Here are review responses from my last chapter, again thank you, all of you:

ForeverFaramir: Charlotte is not one to allow someone tell her what to do, but she keeps telling Ian what he should do. Ian does not think he is allowed to need anyone to take care of him, but she does not give him much choice in the matter, does she? I'm glad you think this is getting better as you get to read more of it. I've tried very hard to make it an interesting story. As for Charlotte being a little scary at times, Ian could not agree more with you….

Silveni: Ah, I don't know how many times I've done the same thing. I try to keep track, but then I read a summary and think it looks good, only to find that I have been reading it before. Regardless, it was so great to read your review, I had not expected to measure up to great, and so I thank you very much.

Earendil Eldar: Shaw would say you should be feeling sorry for the wall, the actual victim, claming that Ian could choose whatever to hit it or not. Um, what can I say, I am a cartoon freak. I love the Roadrunner show, and the credit card thing is something that I have been joking about so long I had to put it into the fic. I might not watch any games on the telly, but we have a book where there are some funny sports quotes, "you three form a square in the middle of the field." Have to love that one. Maybe I should try to steal that book from my parents and translate a few of them for you.

SeanBeansChick29: I want to snuggle up to Ian as well, and I am strongly guessing that we are not the only ones. I know a few who would like nothing more. Glad you think that this is good, I will most certainly do my best to keep it good until the end.

Lady Elbereth Tealrose: Glad to hear you still like it, and guess what, this is an update… I will not say anything about this ending soon, partially because I think I already have, and partially because you do know how long this is. Hope you enjoyed this chapter thought.

Jen Lennon: Ah, yeah, Ian did get the heavy end of the hammer down on him, and he really was no worse than Ben if you think of it. Ian does bad things, he does, but at least he is more honest about it. He does not say I have to steal it so no one else can. He does not say that Ben will destroy it. The only thing with Ian is that he does not have a straight line between right and wrong, but his wavers back and forth. Hopefully you shall feel that he has gotten his due after this one.

LadyDeb1970: Ah, we all want to cuddle Ian, he would be cuddled to death before he knew it if we got the chance. Your support here and when I write means more to me than I can express in words, I hope you know that.


	7. Do They Come With Safety Nets?

Author's note: This is based on the movie National Treasure, and is to a great deal dedicated to the more than worthy performance of Sean Bean. I enjoyed the movie very much, but I thought that since Ben and Ian often used similar methods to reach the same goal, I did not see one of them as more evil than the other. I also thought that the hints of the friendship we saw between them should be explored more. I began doing that in 'Who Did You Say Stole the Declaration,' this story takes up a short time after that one ended, and is my version of what happened next. I hope you all shall like it.

Big thanks to LadyDeb1970 who have been going over this for me, and helped me with plot and story ideas. Also to Celebrion for being my beta.

Disclaimer: I do not own National Treasure. I just borrowed it because I like Sean Bean as an actor. I will return all characters in good and whole order, completely undamaged, if covered with a slight glue residue from having been put together again. I also swear I will not make any serious attempt at stealing Ian. More than I already have that is…

The name of Thomas McDowell have been stolen from LadyDeb1970, with her kind permission, as well as one or two other details.

/Elenhin

* * *

_**The Biggest Treasure**_

_**Do They Come With Safety Nets?**_

7

"Will you look at that." Gregor elbowed Victor rather sharply.

Victor turned from his purchasing them each a hot dog, turned in time to see Charlotte tie the knot on the balloon string.

Gregor was laughing and slapping his knees. Victor could not for he was holding a hot dog in each hand.

"What is she doing to him?" He gasped when he had stopped laughing and handed Gregor one of the hot dogs.

"No idea, but it's awfully funny." Gregor still chuckled around a large bite. "And if it turns him back onto the right track, I don't care what she does to him."

"We've got to remember this." Victor stated as they watched the two of them walk of towards home. "If he thinks that he can get away with that and no one knowing he's wrong."

"She really is good for him." Gregor stated firmly. "Doubt that it's all over, but he would never have agreed to that couple of weeks ago."

"Just think of how much we can mock him for it later." Victor grinned. "We won't let him forget that he was walking around with an balloon like a kid."

"Not that we wouldn't if we thought it fun enough." Gregor was forced to admit as he swallowed the last of his hotdog. "But we needn't tell him that."

"No, we needn't." Victor agreed.

It was the way things should be, none of them would willingly miss a chance to tease another one of them mercilessly. They would tease, mock and banter without mercy, but they always stood behind each other, it was the way they wanted things.

Ben had never seen much of the fool play side of the relationship of Ian's men, for even if Ben had been around them for two years before they actually had enough information to go after the Charlotte, Ben had never been one of them, and so they had not included him in their antics.

He had seen them tease, and he had seen one or two mock fights which included wrestling as well as a few punches, but he had not seen how it was in fact a regular occurrence. Ben thought that it was a rare thing. If Ben had left a room, there might be a fight there just two seconds later.

One of them would chuck a pillow at someone else, or they would toss insults back and forth until someone pounced on someone. The most notable time was when they had all tired of Ben's antics and Riley's whining. Ian had seen the two of them off, and when he had returned they had all waited for him. Jumping at him as soon as he was inside. It had been a tangle of them where no one really knew who was who, you just punched and tugged whatever you could get hold of, and it had not been long before all of them had been laughing too much to continue.

That was one of the reasons they had never taken that much of a liking to Ben, he was too distant. He was adult and beyond that kind of childish behaviour, Riley was certainly childish, but one punch and he would run crying, not like the rest of them, not like them at all.

They had agreed to allow Ben in to some extent, because Ian wanted it, and because Ian believed they could find the treasure, and if Ian believed that it was good enough for them. They had even gone so far as to actually offer Ben a place amongst them, but Ben had not taken that.

He had concentrated on Ian, and he had considered himself a bit above them, if not for that they would have had no trouble with letting Ben in amongst them. It was just Ben that did not want in there, and Riley, well, Riley was another matter.

They could have accepted him as the inexperienced brat he was, and if he had wanted it they could have taught him a few useful things, but instead Riley had latched on to Ben, and had adopted his attitude of thinking that he was better than them.

If he knew a few things that they did not, then that did not matter, for Riley did not know one very important thing, he did not know when to shut up.

* * *

In his apartment Ian untied the balloon from his jacket. He would have to do it sooner or later, and there really was not point in waiting with it. It also was the fact that when the jacket hung on its hook, the balloon would get caught beneath the hat rack, and there really was no purpose to that. Instead he tied it to the lamp that stood in a corner.

He retrieved one of the comic albums that Charlotte had picked up at the library and sat down on the couch to read. Charlotte disappeared into the kitchen again. He hoped that she was not about to cook again, how much food did she think that one man could eat, never mind that it made him feel silly to have her there cooking for him.

Or rather, to have her coming in into his apartment, to cook for him, tell him to sleep, and he did not even know where she slept. Because she did not believe him capable to care for himself.

Ian who had run his own life since he began school. Before that he usually went with his parents to their work, He would stroll around in the museum while they were busy. He was not allowed to touch anything, and most things was locked into glass boxes anyway, but Ian had a very vivid imagination. It was easy for him to pretend that the Dinosaur skeleton was real, that he was a man in their age so very long ago.

He would sneak around them, and pretend that they were chasing him. He had played that he was the explorer who had found everything there.

Ian thus kept busy and out from beneath his parents feet, and even if the board of the museum did not like having a kid there all day, they did not complain as long as there were no complaints about his behaviour.

Then when Ian began school he also began a new kind of life. He began to order his own time and what he did with it.

His mother would wake him up when they left, and Ian would eat breakfast on his own. Then he would either do his homework, or find something else to amuse himself with until it was time to leave for school. He knew the way and it was not very far. He had the key to the front door in his jacket pocket. Tied to a safety pin that was pinned to the pocket. Not because they did not trust him, but because it might fall out when he played.

After school he would either find someone to play with, it did not take long before a few parents got used to the fact that Ian might be tagging along when they picked their children up after school. Or he would go home. It depended on whether he wanted play with someone else or on his own.

Ian liked to play at searching after hidden treasures. He had lost count of the number of times he had dug up half the garden in search of a hidden treasure. At first his mother had not liked that, but after he had found on of her gardening tools that the neighbours dog had run away with, and apparently dug down she did not mind so much.

Once he had gotten almost every other boy in his class to join him in the search of treasures, of course the school janitor had minded them digging up that lawn, but he had just made them fill in the hole again. He was rather understanding of how the boys had been carried away with the idea. So he had not even told the principal about it.

The point was however still that no one had ever been there to watch what he did all the time. As long as he did the homework his parents did not bother about when he did it. As long as he got up in time for school they did not tell him when he should go to bed. Instead they thought that it was better that he learned to take responsibility for himself, so now, to have someone that considered herself a keeper for him made him feel uncomfortable. There should be no need for it.

It was Ian who was supposed to make sure that the others were doing okay, it was he who was the one responsible for the others wellbeing, and then she came and changed that. He was not certain of how he felt about that.

If he was not the one who cared for the others, then who was he? Would there be anything for him to do?

"What are you brooding on?"

He looked up, he had not noticed that she had come out from the kitchen again, but she had, so maybe just maybe she were not cooking again. No, he was not so lucky, there was a distinct smell of food from the kitchen.

"I am trying to figure out what is going on." He mumbled.

"Any luck?" She sank down bedside him.

"No." He shook his head.

"What is it you need to figure out?" She asked him with the intent of helping him sorting out his thoughts, but that was part of it, he wanted to figure this out for himself.

"What is happening" Was all the answer he offered. It should not have been enough to figure anything out, but then she did appear to have the ability to read minds. He had noted that before.

"You're trying to decide whatever you like me being here or not." She stated firmly, and the look on his face appeared to be confirmation enough.

"With me just waltzing in like this it is not surprise." She reasoned slowly. "But on the other hand it was needed." She gave him a warm look and a apologetic smile. "Ian, since you lost your parents, have anyone really stepped in and cared for you?" She asked.

Even if he was not sure if he liked her asking that, he felt that it was something he had to answer honestly. She deserved an honest answer, and he wanted to know what the answer was.

"Shaw did." He said silently.

"How did he do it?" She stroked his hair tenderly. "What did he do?"

"If he thought that there was a danger he would always step in front of me." Ian leaned against her, without thinking about it made it easier for her to reach and twirl that lock of hair around her fingers.

He still recalled the way Shaw would reach out a hand and push him back while he himself would step forward. Then when Ian was safe behind him Shaw would proceed forward to deal with whatever the danger was.

"If he thought that I pushed myself too hard he would hold me back." The way Shaw would physically restrain him until he relented and gave up. The rest of them standing there, ready to give Shaw a hand if he should need it. Until Ian gave up and allowed Shaw to tell him to eat or sleep, or just back down.

"I would be trying to make everything work, but sometimes it was so hard to see if it was working or not. Shaw never cared about if it worked or not. I was trying to watch everything, watch all of them, and Shaw would just watch me." Ian slumped forward as he spoke. "He would always be ready to get me out of there. He was always watching out for me."

"And then I am doing the same thing. But I am not Shaw." Charlotte draped an arm over his back and held him close. A good thing that it was a slow baking in the oven, this would take some time. "I am sorry Ian."

"I don't want you to be Shaw, I want, I don't know what I want." He shook his head desperately.

"You want to still have your Shaw." Charlotte said softly. She did not need him to voice any confirmation, she did not need him to nod. He did neither, but they both knew that she was right. Ian missed Shaw greatly, little wonder, but Ian did not know how to go on. He was stuck on losing Shaw and failing to find the treasure. He was unable to move on after that point. He blamed himself, and he would renew his guilt and shame lest he forgot about it. Ian did not want to forget about it Charlotte realised.

Deep inside Ian was making sure that he did not forget. Because he had failed, and the misery he was in now was what he deemed his punishment. That was why he had not objected to holding the tours for the swine's that would scorn and mock him. Because their mockery helped him to keep the shame alive.

Ian was not aware of what he was doing, had he been she would have struck him by now, she was however seriously considering getting Gregor's baseball bat and going after Ben, for Ben had handed Ian the tools he needed to destroy himself.

"I can not give you Shaw back." She said softly. "But I can give him you back. I can make sure that you goes back to being the Ian that he wanted to keep safe."

Ian did not hear her, he hardly noticed that she left him to take something out of the oven, and he hardly bothered to notice that she tried to make him eat the same thing.

This evening Charlotte had to be satisfied to sit beside him and knock him over sideways when he began nodding. She could not get enough reaction out of him for anything else. When he had fallen asleep she gathered up some of the leftovers and went outside. She wanted to have a word with Victor.

He grinned when he saw her, and motioned to her to sit down on the bench. Eagerly accepting the plate.

"Have that brainless fool ever been stupid enough to try and punish himself before?" She demanded of Victor.

"Time or two." Victor admitted between two mouthfuls. "Shaw usually set him straight about it though." He swallowed. "Ian thinks that he has to protect us, and so he would drive himself very hard when he thought that he needed to do it. Shaw would have none of it."

"So he listened to Shaw?" Charlotte rubbed her eyes tiredly with her thumb and two fingers.

Victor chuckled. "I guess that you can say that. Shaw never gave him an option. He'd do whatever it takes."

"Whacking him?" Charlotte asked with a bemused smile.

"Very nearly once." Victor grinned as she turned her full attention to him.

"We were trying to pull off a rather hard thing." He did not want to tell her exactly what they had been trying to do, best that she did not know that. "It was harder than anything else we ever did."

Charlotte pondered that, she knew that they had pulled off some rather impressive things during the hunt for the treasure. She did not want to think about what they could have been doing then that was so much harder, and she was grateful to Victor for not telling.

"Everything was going wrong, and Ian was blaming himself because he thought that he should have planned better, he thought that he could have done things better, but he really could not have. It was just him that was telling himself that. Shaw tired of it and made him see reason, back down for a few hours. And then when Shaw allowed him to try it again, we actually pulled it off. But Shaw used some force." Victor said sheepishly.

Ian was standing at the table, leaning heavily against it and studying the blue prints, maps and various other important documents that were lying there.

_He could not really tell because they were swimming in front of his eyes. Everything blurred together, and he tried to force his eyes to focus. _

"_Enough." Shaw came over to him and laid a hand on his shoulder. "It's enough Ian."_

"_I need to finish this. We're running out of time." Ian tried to brush of his hand. _

_The others were hanging back, they were sitting on the couch but where more than ready move in should there be need of it. _

"_You're what's finished." Shaw said firmly. "Come on now." He took a grip on Ian's arm and made to pull him from the table. _

"_No, I need to do this." Ian tried to pull loose, but Shaw was rested and he was just too weary. He could hardly keep his eyes open, to then try to reason and convince Shaw to let go of him._

"_You need to sleep." Shaw spun him around and led him off towards the bed, one hand gripping his arm, and the other in his back to push him forward. Ian stumbled as he walked. "It's enough." Shaw said again. _

"_Let go off me." Ian commanded angrily. _

"_As soon as you are sleeping." Shaw smiled, unfazed by Ian's ire. Over by the bed he simply pushed Ian so that he fell over. With one swift motion he had him on the bed, and was holding him down. One arm pressing down on Ian's chest, and the hand pressing his thigh down. _

_Ian tried to get up and cursed as he struggled against Shaw._

"_Let me up you bloody bastard." He tried to push Shaw's arm away from his chest. _

"_In a moment." Shaw said softly. Ian was weakened by fatigue, and it was really not all that hard to remain his hold. _

"_You bloody bastard, let go off me now." Ian demanded, still struggling but loosing the battle._

"_Just a little longer now." Shaw was still just as calmly as before. "You sleep for a few hours now." _

"_I'm not gonna sleep." Though Ian could not struggle to keep his eyes open at the same time as he struggled against Shaw's hold. _

_Shaw moved his hand from Ian's thigh to his shoulder, and he no longer pressed down. He just held his hands there. Ian was to exhausted to realise that there was no pressure anymore, he could still feel the hands, but he could not tell that he could have easily shrugged them off had he wanted to. _

"_Only a few hours. You'll be able to work much better then." Shaw murmured. "I won't keep you down any longer, just sleep a little now." Shaw grinned as Ian was beginning to breathe with deep even breaths. He took off his shoes and then draped a blanket over him. He had no doubt that Ian would wake on his own in a few hours. He was to tightly strung too sleep for very long, but he would be knocked out for a few hours, and it would do him good. _

_When Ian awoke he would also pretend to be angry at Shaw, he would glare at him for a short time, but he would not truly be angry, and after half an hour he would not remember to pretend either. It was just at first when he felt guilty for having slept. When Ian had convinced himself that he had risked the operation by sleeping, once he realized that that was not true, he would drop the pretence of anger. _

_Shaw sat back and relaxed, but was still keeping watch over Ian as he slept. _

"Shaw was most often the one who did that." Victor went on. "Ian saved him in jail, and so he allowed Shaw to go in and help him."

"How did Ian save him?" Charlotte asked, she was curious because she had not heard about that before.

"Shaw was a pickpocket." Victor said a bit embarrassed, it was not to fun to say what they had been before. Petty thieves and less. "He got caught and did some time. He met Ian when he was doing time."

"What was Ian in for?" Charlotte demanded that was something that she really wanted to know.

"He got six months for beating the crap out of a jerk he saw hitting a child." Victor explained. "They said that he should have gotten a police there so he had to do some time himself. Ian was a cold devil then, so no one really dared to mess with him, Shaw, now he kept firing off his big mouth, and Ian saved him from a really big guy who was just about to beat him to death."

"How did he do that?" Charlotte asked. "It sounded rather amazing.

"He talked his way out of it." Victor chuckled. "Ian's a smart devil. Since they got him once he was spending his time there reading all the law books so that they would not be able to get him again. He told the other guy just what they would do if he killed Shaw. Brought out every law paragraph on it that there was, then he asked if he really thought Shaw was worth that. Shaw told us that it was amazing to see him stand there and just state the facts. That man was huge, he had Shaw clear of the floor with a fist, and Ian did not care. He just stood in front of him and told him the stuff."

Victor grinned, Shaw had always had a look of awe on his face when he had told it, he had been hanging from the fist that griped his shirt when Ian stepped up to them. The guy had just stood there dumbstruck Shaw said, and then he had looked between Ian and Shaw, dropped Shaw onto the floor and left.

That was when Ian had taken on Shaw.

"Did not get to see that." Victor went on. "But I've seen Ian stand up to others, there is no one who dares to go against him when he gets going. They can't touch him and they know it, and if anyone did something foolish, then Shaw would deal with them."

"He does carry a lot of confidence." Charlotte mused. "Though he can be just as big an idiot at times." She was a slight bit afraid that Victor might take that the wrong way, but instead he laughed.

"Took you long enough to figure that out." He grinned. "Ian's not like anyone else I've ever met. I guess that is why we like him so much."

Charlotte nodded, it made sense, she had not met anyone like Ian before either. He was special, he really was.

"I think I just understood why he never stood up to Ben, though." She said slowly. "I think that he told himself that he should be punished, and I think that he deliberately took all that crap to make sure he did."

Victor nodded with a solemn expression. "If they were bothering him he could've put them down for it, if he did not, then it was because he was being stupid about it." He muttered. He was looking rather subdued now Charlotte reflected. "Ian's smarter than Ben, but sometimes he wants to believe that someone else is smarter than him, and then he'll just step back and let them call the shots. He did that with Ben, whenever Ben was around Ian acted as if Ben was smarter than him and just did what he said." His voice was slightly bitter, but more for Ian than for himself. "T'was a bloody shame that Ian should step back for Ben, he'd have done things much smoother, but I guess anyone'll make mistakes." Victor shrugged.

Charlotte saw an opportunity for more information, and took it. "Has he done that before?"

"Time or two." Victor shrugged casually. "We've all got our flaws, so we don't bother much about it. Just don't like seeing some brat thinking himself better than us for it."

Charlotte had to agree on that. "It was pure luck that Ben was the one who found the treasure." She guessed. "Ian would have known it was wrong if he had been thinking."

Victor nodded ruefully. "He just figured that they would get out okay, and then he just trusted what they told him, but we would never known that much, so it does not matter." Victor was unwilling to say anything that could make Ian sound bad, even to Charlotte. For the way he saw it, Ian did not deserve that, even if he was a fool at times.

Charlotte grinned. "I am thinking of trying to do something about that though, I intend to make him see that he is better than that Gates brat."

Victor laughed. "Ah, please do. It'll be something to see." He grinned at Charlotte. "Even better than seeing him with a balloon tied to him. We loved that one."

Charlotte joined in with the laughter. "It was a joke." She chuckled. "I was teasing him, but it was so much fun."

"We figured that we would do some teasing about it as well later." Victor admitted with a very guilty grin. "Sort of too good an opportunity not to do it."

Charlotte had to agree with that. It was however time to get back inside, so she abandoned him since he had finished eating anyway, and went back to Ian.

He was tossing and turning so much that she though it was a wonder he had not yet fallen off the couch. He had to have the balance skills of a cat not to fall out as he fidgeted in his sleep she thought.

He also muttered an occasional word, but nothing clear enough that it could be called talking in his sleep. It was just a low murmur that could be anything. She wondered if she should try to get him to his bed instead, but decided to let him remain where he was. There was no guarantee that he would go back to sleep at all again if she woke him up.

Since the couch was occupied she went to stretch out on his bed and nap for a few hours. She had taken to sleep wherever he did not. As it was not always she could get him to the bed, or like had also happen, she would fall asleep beside him.

If there were room enough on the couch she might have liked to stretch out beside him, but as he was tossing about he would either send her to the floor, or give her a black eye. She preferred not to find out which. Hopefully he would not push himself to the floor.

The low thud that was just enough to wake her up a few hours later seemed to tell her that she was too optimistic. Especially since it was accompanied by a series of muffled curses.

She went out into the living room and saw him sitting on the edge of the couch, rubbing the back of his head with one hand. She killed a smile for in some way it looked funny. At least the annoyed expression on his face as he glared at the floor was rather amusing. He really seemed to be angry at the floor.

"Want me to kiss it better?" She asked as she sat down beside him, not waiting for an answer but taking his hand in her own, and then kissing the back of his head through his hair. She quite enjoyed that, he had really nice hair, and she liked to kiss him.

"Usually not that clumsy." He muttered, now that she had moved away he was rubbing the sore spot again, and rubbing his ribs, apparently he had landed rather hard.

"You are exhausted still." She slipped her own hand in under his and felt the beginning of a lump there, he had definitely struck the floor hard. "Come, lets get you to bed and you can go back to sleep."

"I doubt that I can." Ian muttered with a glare at the floor. "Anyway I do not think I want to unless there is a safety net."

Charlotte hugged him, because it was so good to hear him joke. Then she planted another kiss to the sore spot through his hair, she loved to nuzzle there. "Come, I'll make sure that you do not need one." She promised.

Ian reluctantly allowed himself to be pulled to his feet, he even went so far as to undress down to his boxers before slipping in beneath the covers.

"On your stomach." She smiled at him as he shifted around a little.

"Why?" According to his experience that was not comfortable at all.

"Just do it." She coaxed, and he found himself obeying.

"What are you doing?" He asked surprised as he felt her pull back the cover all the way down to his waist.

"I'm making you relax, so relax now." Charlotte said soothingly. She began massaging his shoulders and his neck. He was still too tense there for it to be good. She almost wondered how he functioned with it, for it had to be painful. Ian groaned as she began working on a knot that was so tight she suspected that a boy scout had made it.

"Does it feel any better?" Charlotte asked as she began to work on his spine, pressing her knuckles into the flesh around it and going up the spine inch by inch. He only groaned and muttered something that she could not tell what it was. There were no distinctive sounds in it to even let her know what letter was being used. She supposed that was a good thing for it meant that Ian was falling asleep again.

It would appear that she had her own method of making him sleep, and even if it was different from Shaw's, it seemed to work quite well.

* * *

This is the end of this chapter, I shall update again in two weeks, and keep the updates up every second week.

I want to thank everyone who read my earlier National Treasure story, thank you, all of you.

Here are review responses from my first story, again thank you, all of you:

Lady Elbereth Tealrose: Yes, it is kinda cute, but the balloon is not on his jacket anymore, where is the balloon now, eh? Did you see where the balloon went? Glad that you like it Meldir nin.

Earendil Eldar: Okay, not sure if you are back or not, but here is the chapter, I tried to be early to be sure. Ah, Ian's cooking skills have turned into a joke between me and Celebrion, sad thing is, my cooking is like his, unless you give me a fire, then I can cook. Charlotte takes good care of him, and that backrub is just the least of it, as well as being just what he needed.

Jen Lennon: Ian is a very deep and interesting character in the movie. I want for him to be the best he can be, but the road there is not an easy one, if it were, I would not have very much. I am glad that you think it worth waiting for.

Silveni: Aye, here is a new chapter once again, and how can I thank you for hanging on? The glop is what I cook, it is usually rather glopish, and so it is what I imagine he might make as well. There is good food and bad food, his is not very good, but I am very glad to hear you like this.

Big thanks to everyone that reads.


	8. Is This a Morningstar?

Author's note: This is based on the movie National Treasure, and is to a great deal dedicated to the more than worthy performance of Sean Bean. I enjoyed the movie very much, but I thought that since Ben and Ian often used similar methods to reach the same goal, I did not see one of them as more evil than the other. I also thought that the hints of the friendship we saw between them should be explored more. I began doing that in 'Who Did You Say Stole the Declaration,' this story takes up a short time after that one ended, and is my version of what happened next. I hope you all shall like it.

Big thanks to LadyDeb1970 who have been going over this for me, and helped me with plot and story ideas. Also to Celebrion for being my beta.

Disclaimer: I do not own National Treasure. I just borrowed it because I like Sean Bean as an actor. I will return all characters in good and whole order, completely undamaged, if covered with a slight glue residue from having been put together again. I also swear I will not make any serious attempt at stealing Ian. More than I already have that is…

The name of Thomas McDowell have been stolen from LadyDeb1970, with her kind permission, as well as one or two other details.

/Elenhin

* * *

Chapter 8, Is This a Morningstar?

Phil was holding back, remaining where he was not seen, but he was glaring. He was indeed glaring at Ben Gates.

Gates was standing on the sidewalk outside the house where Ian had his apartment, and it was an inner battle to hold back and not take everything out on him. He had Abigail with him, and they both stood there looking.

Ben looked apprehensively at the door, he was not really certain of how to do this, but he had told Charlotte or whatever her name was that he would come by to see how Ian was doing, and he intended to do that.

It was just hard to move inside and actually do it.

"Come on, let's just do it." Abigail tugged on his arm as she moved to the door. She had been thinking a little more about Ian since they had taken him and Charlotte home, and to her it seemed that Ian had been punished enough. She had seen how dejected he was when they took him home. It had made her want to step inside with Charlotte and give her a hand, but she had decided that her presence were more likely to do more harm than any good. Still she had wanted to.

The Ian whom she had helped to a bench to sit down was so very different from the Ian who had been chasing them, and she was beginning to see that there were more than one side to Ian Howe, just as it was to Ben Gates if one were to be honest.

Ben had also been desperate enough to steal the declaration, and she had not gone willingly at first, she had tried to run for it, and he had stopped her. She found it harder to trust Ian, because he did have a criminal background, but maybe he was not as bad as she would have thought.

They found the door to his apartment and rang the bell. It was Charlotte who opened, and Ben did not know what to say. He could have greeted Ian, but he did not know how to greet her, he did not even know what she was to Ian.

"How is he doing?" Abigail asked.

"Better." Charlotte answered, not a very warm welcome but she did not care. She did however step aside grudgingly so that they could step inside.

Ben glanced around the hallway and what he could see of the rest. It was neat and tidy although a bit bare. He would have thought that Ian could have gotten more furniture if he had wanted. He had thought that Ian would have a different style in the apartment, it had seemed like that before they went on the quest, but here there was not a single thing that was not needed it seemed.

Charlotte stepped back into the living room and they followed. Ben smiled slightly as he saw the poster of the declaration on the wall, he could not be certain, but is seemed like the one he had bought, it was amusing that Ian still had it. He frowned a bit over the poster with Donald Duck on it, really, Ian was a grown man.

Ian was sitting on the sofa, and had apparently been watching cartoons, perhaps he was not as grown a man as Ben had thought. The cartoons really were for children. Ian still wore his hair just as long as he had before, and now it fell over his eyes, yet Ben could tell that he was watching them. He was however doing nothing more, he just sat there and watched them. A peculiar expression on his face, because Ben could not read it at all.

When they played poker Ben had been so easy to read, and Ian impossible, his face had always been full of emotion, but it had never reflected his cards. Ian could laugh and joke while he sat with the worst cards possible, and Ben never knew. Now however there was nothing there, neither joy nor anger, and it was disconcerting. His eyes were watching them, but Ben could not guess what he thought about seeing them.

Charlotte took a seat next to Ian, and for some reason she seemed to be protecting him. Ben could not understand why, there was no danger near them, and if either one of them could take care of himself it would be Ian.

Abigail however could see that Charlotte was in love with him, and it was the protectiveness of a lover that made her sit close to him in that way. She hoped that they would be happy together.

"How are you doing Ian?" Ben asked carefully at a lack for better phrasing.

"Well enough." Ian shrugged. "You're doing well?" He still regarded them in that strange way, but now he gave a small nod towards the armchairs. A permission to sit down if nothing else.

Ben took a deep breath and tried to gather his thoughts. "I never meant for you to be treated badly there Ian." He began, looking away from Ian as he spoke. Hoping that Ian would not be able to read his confusion that he was sure was on his face. "I thought that they would appreciate someone with your knowledge, I mean they should. It would be logical. I never thought that they might not be seeing it that way, and I'm sorry for not noticing, I guess that I was so caught up in everything, but I should have noticed."

"We only see what we want to see Ben." Ian said slowly. "And we only let others see what we want them to see. It is very hard to get a full picture of things."

Abigail looked at him surprised, when he began that sentence she had thought that it was directed at Ben, and she was on the verge of being angry with him for blaming it all on Ben, but he were not doing that. He was saying that he had not wanted Ben to see it, and it was that combined with Ben not looking that had made him miss it.

He was taking a part of the blame on himself, and she had not though Ian would do that. She had underestimated him she guessed. She had gotten Ian the Dangerous Villain so firmly in her mind that she had not seen that there was another Ian.

Ben shook his head. "I'm still sorry Ian, it was not supposed to be that way. I was not supposed to be so caught up in every thing that I did not notice. I meant for it to be more like before."

"Ah, Ben. We both know that things rarely go like we imagine they will." Ian said and he sounded sad. "No matter how good our intentions are, it seldom works out like we want them."

Abigail agreed, life kept throwing things you never wanted at you, and she had gotten caught up in the treasure hunt. She had not wanted that, and yet it had turned out to be one of the best things that had ever happened to her. She had met Ben, and that would never have happened if not for Ian's plan to do whatever it took. She, Ben and Riley had all gotten so much good things out of it, and even if she still did not trust Ian fully, she owed that to him.

"My good intentions certainly did not hold out as good as I hoped that they would." Ben noted. "We seem to just keep failing." He shook his head.

"Failing Ben?" For the first time since they had entered Abigail saw Ian sit up a little straighter. There was some emotion to be read on his face even if she could not tell what he was thinking. "Did you ever really fail? I would not say that. I think that you got more than you know."

Abigail blinked, the look Ian gave her as he said that, a look of appreciation, he did not ogle her like some guys did. He just looked at her in a way that made her feel that he took in everything that she was. Ian was good at estimating a situation, he had just estimated how much Abigail and Ben meant to each other, and he counted it as something good that had come out of that mad treasure hunt.

"Failure to some extent yeah." Ben had not noticed that Ian had taken all that in. He was not looking at Ian for the moment, he was looking on his hands that he had clasped in front of himself. "I really, really did not mean to get so caught up in everything that I forgot to make sure my friends were okay."

"We all make mistakes in life Ben. All of us." Ian sounded rather tired, he also felt very tired. Too tired to listen to Ben's self pity over what had occurred. He just wanted to move on. "I've made too many mistakes of my own to hold another man's against him."

"How manybad mistakes can you have made?" Ben looked up at him baffled. When had Ian ever made the kind of mistakes he was talking about. It was not taking the wrong tin out of the pantry he was talking about, not something like returning the wrong book to the library.

Ian took a deep breath and smiled sadly. "It is said that before you ask a question you should always think about whether you want to hear the answer or not." He said carefully. "I will let you off easy this time Ben, but the next time you ask that question I will answer it."

Charlotte was torn between the want to do several different things. Top of the list was strangling Ben, and tearing him apart, for asking that when Ian thought that he had made the biggest mistake of all times in going after the treasure. She also wanted to kick Ben out of the apartment where Phil would deal with him, and she wanted to talk some sense into Ian. It was not the time for that however, so instead she laid her hand protectively on his arm. Let him know that he had her support.

Ben did not fully understand what Ian meant, so he cleared his throat and spoke again. "Anyway I spoke with them at the museum, and you won't be doing any more tours Ian, you'll be doing completely different things." He gave Ian a questioning look. "I also found out that you had helped them improve security, and stopped a scam, that is very well done, but why didn't you tell me about that."

"Was no point to it." Ian shrugged. "There were some flaws, and I told them about it, nothing more than that."

"Has to be more than that." Ben pressed on, he was eager to talk about something good, and there was no denying that Ian had done the museum a big favour. He deserved to know that they appreciated it. "What about the one who tried to trick them?"

"He was a fool." Ian said quietly. "They wanted to sound important and he used it to try and convince them to buy some crap he claimed was an artefact. He did not know how to come up with a convincing story though, so it was easy to prove he was lying."

"Not everyone would be able to do that." Ben encouraged.

Ian said nothing, he ran his hand through his hair, not entirely certain what Ben was getting at. There was no need to praise him like that, there was no need to tell Ian how good he had been, he knew how bad he had screwed up.

"Really Ian, it was very well done." Ben said eagerly.

Ian shook his head slowly. It was just praise designed to make him feel better. It did not really work too well.

Ben opened his mouth to speak again, not wanting to hear more of the same Ian spoke before him.

"Anyone bothering to listen would have caught on to it Ben. It is no feather in my cap to have done so, it does not serve to make up for what else I did. It is just something that I did, and for once it was not a bad thing."

Ben opened his mouth again and again Ian spoke before he could. "We both know what I mean Ben."

Charlotte clenched her teeth shut. It was not the right time to tell Ian of for talking down on himself, but she wanted to do that.

"It is in the past, Ian." Ben said, and it was the first thing he had said that Charlotte liked to hear.

"And I am trying to move on, it's not easy Ben." Ian said ruefully.

"I guess not." Ben muttered, not knowing what to say.

"But then again nothing is ever easy, we just do the best that we can." Ian shrugged and grinned, but it was a smile that touched no other part of his face than his lips. It was not a true smile.

"We do." Ben agreed.

"I'll do my best Ben." Ian said solemnly

"I know that you will, Ian." Ben said warmly, there was not much more to say and do then, so he stood. "I'll come back later again, okay?"

Ian nodded slowly.

When Ben and Abigail had said their farewells and left Charlotte bit back on what she wanted to say, instead she scooted over and held Ian close, for that was what he needed. He needed some silent comfort.

She held him for a long time, until he began nodding and she discretely steered him off to bed. For once he did not make a single objection to her. He just drew her down and held her close as he closed his eyes and tried to sleep.

* * *

Ian was not really sure how he felt about being back at the museum, in a way he enjoyed it, it was something to do again, and he needed that. He needed to feel that he was doing something, for he could never enjoy being idle. For a week or two maybe, but then he needed to be doing things. Shaw claimed that he needed the excitement, and that was why he always involved himself in the affairs he did.

The high stakes ones. He had went so far as jokingly suggest that they should take him to Las Vegas and let him loose on the casinos there, to see how many he would put into bankruptcy. Phil had objected that Ian was not that good at gambling, and Shaw had announced that Ian would take them on in a completely different way.

Actually a casino was an interesting idea, and Ian had made sure to keep it in mind. It was certainly a high stakes game. Though now he had to be really legal, so it was best not to think about it.

For the moment he was stashed away in the back room, cataloguing objects from Ben's treasure, the ones that did not seem all that important but had been found with the treasure. All the museums who had received a part of the treasure had been asked to help with this.

The board had thought that Ian was the perfect man for doing this, and for once Ian agreed. One thing that made it better than before was that now Charlotte was with him almost every day. She would sit there and keep him company, and Ian would be teaching her things.

Charlotte had been in very fine schools paid for by her dad, and she had studied enough to get rather good grades, but she did not remember all that much about certain things, and there were not courses for everything that she wanted to learn.

Ian had never gone to college, but he had learnt by books. It had happened once or twice that someone had frowned at his lack of college degree, but on the other hand it could not be denied that Ian knew what he was talking about, he really knew that. Eventually people realised that.

So at the same time as he was going over the artefacts he was teaching Charlotte certain things, he might not be an expert on Latin, but he knew it well enough. He knew it probably as well as Ben did, Latin however was rather difficult to learn yourself, and Ian knew some things that he guessed that Ben did not. He knew Welsh and Gaelic as well, not much but enough for what he needed.

"Is this a morning star?" Charlotte held up a very heavy object, it was not even a foot long, but it was solid silver, and it was made of a stick with a chain, and attached to the chain was a spiked ball.

"No." Ian shook his head. "It's a mace. A morning star is stick and head, it has no chain. Sometimes a mace also have two chains and two heads, they are rather impressive, and they can do a lot of damage."

He took it from her and hefted it. "Though this one is purely ornamental." He noted. "The balance is wrong for use, and silver would take to much damage."

Charlotte whistled. "You know a lot about these kinds of weapons." She noted, the way he held it made her think that he could use it as well. She had just picked it up and held it, Ian handled it more like an expert and took a ready stance while he did it."

For once Ian blushed. "I found one in the armoury at my aunt's place once when I was a kid. It was still in usable condition, so I would swing it around a little. Then in school I made one."

"You made a mace?" She asked baffled.

He nodded. "We told the teacher that it was for a history project, so he allowed it. It was a very crude one though. We cast a solid metal ball and welded on the spikes, and then the we put it on a chain, the tricky part was attaching the chain on the stick in a so that it would not come off."

"Do you mean to say that you used it?" Charlotte asked baffled, or maybe considering Ian it was not so strange, he would want to make sure that it worked.

Ian nodded. "We used it, and we punched a hole right through a pot. We used the lid as a shield at first, and tried to block it. But it turned out that it was not a very good idea to hold it, and since the lid was ruined by then we thought that we might as well see what damage it could do. So I struck it down as hard as I could on the upturned pot. It punched a hole right through. I don't think that the school cafeteria ever found out what had happened to that pot." He grinned sheepishly. It had been quite a lot of suspicion when the pot had been found, and Ian had been on the top of the list of suspects. Because Ian was usually suspected for these things, but as always they did not know.

Charlotte laughed. "Ah, Ian, you've got to be the most crazy one I ever knew. I do not know anyone else who'd do that."

Ian shrugged as he laid down the mace. "I just did what most kids wants to do but never had the guts to try."

"Or to much brain to try." Charlotte teased. "What if you had been caught?"

Ian shrugged. "They would not have been able to do much, maybe I would have had to pay for the pot, but I sort of had an understanding with the principal, he could never catch me, but I never did anything bad, and I kept other kids from doing worse stuff. I don't think he even tried to catch me very hard, at least not more than once."

"What did you do that time?" She asked intrigued.

"I helped some kids to cheat." He looked a light bit guilty at that. "They were failing and so I helped them cheat on the exam, for a small fee of course. Only one of them was stupid enough to brag about having cheated, and a teacher heard him. The principal wanted to know who had been involved and the coward told him it was me."

"Cowardly." Charlotte agreed. "Not that I approve of cheating though."

"They paid me." Ian stated. "I never bothered much about the moral of it. I'm sorry Charlotte, but I never cared much about that. I did care about honour though, and I do not approve of people trying to save their skin by putting someone else on the grill." He sounded more sad then.

Charlotte thought about it, that was after all what Ben had done, he had told them where Ian would be. Actually she thought it was impressive how Ian did not hold these things against Ian. He was a much bigger man than Ben.

"However they could not prove it was me." Ian went on. "I got away with a warning, though I had to get my parents signature on it, to ensure that they knew what had been going on. It was no problem, they thought that as long as I was prepared to take responsibility for my actions they would not lecture me on it." He turned away from her, using the excuse of putting the mace away.

"My father thought that it was just a boyish prank, something I would grow out of. He was not sure whether I had done it or not, and he did not ask. He knew of other things I did, and he thought that it was harmless." He was still busying himself so that he was turned away from her, but his voice was thick and betrayed his emotions. "I guess he did not guess what I would do later. He thought that I would shape up."

"Ian, don't go there." Charlotte said softly as she stepped up to him and embraced him. "It does not do any good."

Ian composed himself again, drew himself together and swallowed down the lump in his throat. Then he turned away from her to pick up the next item, avoiding eye-contact with Charlotte.

She swore softly under her breath. Men could just be so damn stupid, thinking that the problem would go away if they did not talk about them. She would give him the benefit of that belief for now, because he had been good and opened up a little, and then she would take him to task a little later.

This is the end of this chapter, I shall update again in two weeks, and keep the updates up every second week.

I want to thank everyone who read my earlier National Treasure story, thank you, all of you.

Here are review responses from my first story, again thank you, all of you:

Lady Elbereth Tealrose: I am not quite sure, hmm, Marvin the Marvelous Balloon, eh? Well we shall see about what we can do there my dear padawan, we shall see what we can do about it.

Silveni: Ah, yes, the most action here is that of words, but there is a bit more actual action to come. This is quite different from the movie, and I am not sure if it could be the same here. Also, your reviews are very helpful, and it is a pleasure to read them. Very much so, lets me know that my writing is actually appreciated. Thank you.

Earendil Eldar: Ah, and here we have now just reached chapter eight. Ieee, riding horse on the beach, I wanna do that, I love riding. Massage also sounds nice, I hate it how my back aches, dancing I am not so sure about, but the Irish pub sounds very nice. Ian is used to take care of himself, but I think he is mostly used to do it for others, he takes care of himself so he can take care of them. Without them, he does not quite know what to do. He is being cared for though, and sleeping and eating a bit more, so he should be alright.

Jen Lennon: Charlotte can be very subtle in her means to get him where she wants, and she can be very straight forward. Ah, I'm very sorry, but I do not know how to answer the question. I want to, but I am just not quite sure. This is not like the movie, with that kind of swift action, even if there is more action to come, some of it is verbal, and some is more direct action. However, there is need for Charlotte and Ian to have more time together before that happens, and I did not want to just jump a few months ahead, so I tried to make use of that time to develop the characters. I hope that you can still enjoy it.


	9. You Light Up My Life

Author's note: This is based on the movie National Treasure, and is to a great deal dedicated to the more than worthy performance of Sean Bean. I enjoyed the movie very much, but I thought that since Ben and Ian often used similar methods to reach the same goal, I did not see one of them as more evil than the other. I also thought that the hints of the friendship we saw between them should be explored more. I began doing that in 'Who Did You Say Stole the Declaration,' this story takes up a short time after that one ended, and is my version of what happened next. I hope you all shall like it.

Big thanks to LadyDeb1970 who have been going over this for me, and helped me with plot and story ideas. Also to Celebrion for being my beta.

Disclaimer: I do not own National Treasure. I just borrowed it because I like Sean Bean as an actor. I will return all characters in good and whole order, completely undamaged, if covered with a slight glue residue from having been put together again. I also swear I will not make any serious attempt at stealing Ian. More than I already have that is…

The name of Thomas McDowell have been stolen from LadyDeb1970, with her kind permission, as well as one or two other details.

/Elenhin

* * *

(Early update this time, since I am going away from Wednesday to Sunday I wanted to have it up early rather then late.) 

9 _**You Light Up My Life**_

Ben looked into the room and saw that Abigail was again hard at work on the computer. She looked to be very deep in thought.

"What are you working on now?" He asked as he pulled up a chair beside her.

"I am still trying to find that McDowell." She sighed. "I've found a little more information, but this is really impossible." She turned to face him. "You know, sometimes I wish I had Ian's resources. I am certain that he could find out what I wanted. He seems to always be able to find out what he wants."

"Are you thinking of asking him?" Ben gave her a surprised look. He was sure that Ian could indeed find that missing McDowell, but he had not thought that Abigail would consider asking him about it.

"No." She shook her head. "It does not concern him, and it would not be fair to bother him either. He was really suffering there Ben, and then asking him to find something for me, it would just not be fair."

"Tell me what more you have found." Ben asked leaning forward so that he could see the screen.

"I have found a few pictures of the McDowell family." Abigail said proudly, taking a folder that was laying on the desk and taking a few sheets of papers out of it. "Here are some photos of paintings, portraits of older members of the family, then there are these two that could actually be of some use." She spread two papers out in front of Ben.

"This first one is from a museum where Thomas McDowell's parents worked. See here they are with their son."

"So that is how he looks." Ben noted as he looked closer at the picture. There were two adults and he ignored them, then there was the boy who was maybe six years old. He was holding a large bone in his arms. There were several dinosaur skeletons behind them, so he suspected that it was a dinosaur bone the kid was holding. It looked to be nearly as long as he was tall.

The child had blond hair that was cut short, it looked to be nearly white so it had to be very blond, and then he had a round face with a small nose.

"He looks like a cute kid." Ben noted. He did not care all that much about children, but the lad looked cute enough he supposed.

"Very." Abigail smiled. "I am sure that he had to fend off girls by the dozen when he was young." She pointed at the other picture. "He is older here, eight or nine I think. I believe that it is a school picture, I think he grew to be quite handsome."

Ben looked at the picture. It was a head and shoulder photo, and like the other it was in black and white. His hair was still very blond, cut short but with bangs, and he had a fairly round face. It was at least not thin and pointy as his own had been at that age. He had clear eyes, and his nose looked a little bigger, he was smiling at the camera and it was a small and attractive smile. The kind that would indeed win him the attention of many girls.

"He probably did." Ben was forced to admit. "Though some kids change a lot when they grow older."

"I know." Abigail said ruefully. "It is also the most recent picture I have found, and it will be of little use in finding him. I can not really put a lost notice on the lamp posts."

"Maybe you should ask Ian." Ben suggested mirthfully.

Abigail gave him a strange look.

"I was just joking." Ben defended himself.

* * *

"So, what do you think about this?" Charlotte asked. She was working on a plan to make Ian eat more. By trying to figure out what he liked to eat. It was not an easy task, Ian did not seem to have any favourite dishes, he would eat little enough of everything, but never expressed any preference. She almost began wondering if he had any favourite meal. It would have been good to know. 

"I like it." Ian murmured.

She sighed, that was as much as he had ever said, and the same thing that he had said all the time. 'I like it.' Never more than that. She wanted to make something he would enjoy to eat, and he made that very hard.

"Ian, is there any food at all that you like particularly much?" She asked.

"Don't think so." Ian laid down his fork neatly on his plate. "I'm sorry Charlotte, but I'm just not hungry."

"Will you try to eat a little more?" She looked at his plate worriedly. It was less than usual he had eaten. Yet she saw the way he looked at his plate, as if he thought about forcing himself to eat more, just to please her, but that he could not think of anything worse.

"No, Ian, I do not mean for you to force yourself." She said softly.

He ran an agitated hand through his hair. "I'm sorry."

She moved over to hug him. "Don't be." She stooped over to hold her arms around him and nuzzled his neck, pecking small kisses there, like she loved to do. Nuzzling his soft hair and warm flesh at the same time. "I'm just nagging, don't pay any attention to me."

"When you do that it's bloody hard not to." Ian felt a jolt travelling down his spine, what was she, electrically charged? It sure seemed that way. Maybe he could connect her to the light bulb? It was an interesting idea.

"What are you thinking about now?" Charlotte asked, tussling his hair lovingly.

"Of how you light up my life." Ian smiled. It was as close he could get without risking to get his head taken off.

"You are so sweet." Charlotte kissed him again just for the compliment.

Ian grinned lopsidedly, if she knew what he had been thinking she would not kiss his neck, she would do something else with it. Hopefully she could not read minds, she just made a good impression out of it.

He supposed that it was a female trait, for his father had always complained about the fact that his mother did the same thing. That she always knew what he was up to, even before he himself did. He claimed that all women were like that, and from what Ian had seen since then he was willing to agree. He supposed that his father had not minded though, for as far as he could tell they loved each other very much.

Ian had never been that involved with them that way. They had been busy on their end, and he on his. They would talk at times, but he did not think they had ever had any serious conversation, not since he had asked them about the sandman.

Not that he'd had had an unhappy childhood as some seemed to think, he had been very happy, he had just been on his own a lot, as he liked it.

"What are you thinking about now?"

Ian gave a start, when had she begun nuzzling his ear? He had not noticed, but she was there now, at least she was asking the question just an inch from it.

"About when I was a kid." He had learnt by now that she settled for nothing else than the truth, or considering a few minutes earlier, something very close to the truth.

"What about it?" Charlotte kissed his ear tip before moving to clear of the table.

"About how queer it was." She looked up from the plates and gave him a queer look.

"I just don't understand it." He went on. "So many says that I turned into what I am because I had an unhappy childhood, and that I would never have become a criminal if I had been taken better care of. But it was never like that. I was happy, I would not have been if my parents had done what everyone says that they should. I liked being independent the way I was, my parents did not ignore me, they gave me the freedom I wanted."

Charlotte sat down opposite him. "Some people don't understand that there are children who are more independent Ian. They think that any mother who does not watch over their child all the time is a bad parent. I do not think that your parents did anything wrong, but I will not say that they could not have done more right."

He gave her a confused look. "Was it not you who said that you could never know what result your actions would make?" He asked carefully.

"Exactly Ian, they could not know what would happen." She said softly. "They could only do what appeared to be the best course of action, that is the best either of us can do." She rose and stroked his hair back. "Now stop pondering such heavy things, come and let us see if we can find anything nice to watch instead."

"When was the last time there was anything good on the telly?" Ian might be an optimist when it came to most things, but not when it concerned finding anything good to watch on the telly. "My guess is that they ran out of nice shows even before the telly was invented. Since then they have just been producing crap."

"Oh, come on Ian, show some faith." Charlotte laughed.

"Not any more." Ian shook his head. "I did years ago, and they let me down."

"Well, I still have some faith in them, so come on." Charlotte asked.

Ian reluctantly allowed himself to be dragged into the living room and placed in front of the telly. He was rather doubtful that they would find anything that was actually worth watching, and was considering getting a comic book instead. If Charlotte wanted to watch she could do that while he read.

He sneaked over to the bookcase and picked out one of his Donald Duck books.

"Now that is hardly socializing." Charlotte scolded him playfully.

"Sorry." He gave her a guilty smile. "But I'm really not feeling like watching the telly."

"Okay, read then." She said softly. "But turn the other way from me" She did not care whether he was reading or watching really. She just wanted to see if she could put him to sleep again. It was early still, but he had hardly slept at all the night before. She had discovered a secret weapon to use to make him sleep.

Ian never could stay awake past a good back rub, it knocked him out as sure as anything, even if it sometimes took a little longer time. It was no matter, he always feel asleep eventually.

"What are you doing?" He murmured the question.

"Relax Ian." She told him.

"You want me to try do that for you?" He shifted around to look at her.

"Maybe some other time." She smiled. "Now turn around, sit still and relax." As he turned around she placed a kiss to the nape of his neck again, she loved the way he straightened when she did that. He reacted to it, always. His back would straighten, and then he would lean closer to him. The first part was just to get his attention.

He even ignored the comic book, instead he sat there, balancing on the brink of falling backwards, and eventually she allowed him to do that as well. Allowing him to sleep.

When he woke up he would be grumbling about how she manipulated him, and how she was too pushy. It was a good natured grumbling, if anything it was because he was annoyed at himself for needing someone to push him. Ian still thought that it was wrong to have someone taking care of him.

Gregor had laughed when she noted that. He had told her that Ian was the kind of guy who would always step in and take care of everyone else, thinking that he was not allowed to accept the same kind of support from someone else. They also said that they would be very grateful if she could knock some sense into him.

She supposed that it was about the base ball bat again. Somehow with Ian it tended to come down to that all the time. Or given the more recent conversation with him, maybe she should use that mace from the museum, it would be more likely to make a more lasting impression. If the story he had told her about his mace was anything to go by.

The way she saw it she would just have to try both of them and see which one worked the best. She had plenty of time, she did not intend to let Ian go, ever.

* * *

Ian was walking home on his own, these last few months Charlotte had practically been living with him. His bed was big enough for them to share, especially since they both liked to snuggle close to one another. Ian liked nothing more than to sleep with her arm over his chest, and she always wound up draping her arm over him. 

It was as if she could not resist hugging him.

Now however he was walking home all alone though. Charlotte had gone with her father on a business trip. He had asked her to, and since she was spending more and more time with Ian, how could Ian then blame him for wanting her with him for a bit.

He had not thought that he would miss her as much as he did thought, but he did, he missed her so very much.

He glanced into a store window as he walked past, he thought he saw a reflection more than his own there, and so he stopped so fast that others behind him had to stop as well. He had thought that there was a familiar reflection there, for a moment he had seen Victor's face there.

He looked around him, but he could not see anyone, so it had to be his brain playing a trick on him. It could not have been Victor there, it just could not have been. What would Victor be doing there.

Ian began walking again but he no longer paid any real attention to where he was going. What did it matter. He had no Victor to care for anymore, no one of his old friends, not after he had cost them Shaw.

It was his fault that they had lost Shaw, and he could not forgive himself for it, why should they. They had lost more than he had.

Ian had been supporting them in many ways. He had ordered the finances, and they had worked together, but they had lost that, and aside from the money he had made sure they got, they now had to find new ways to support themselves. He was concerned about them, what would happen with them if they tried to pull something off and failed. He had always been the one making the plans, he had always been the one organising things. What if he had failed to make sure they knew what to do. They could get caught and sent to prison.

They had always known that there was a risk for that, but with Ian being as successful as he had been, the risk had seen less and less. He had never let down his guard, he had made sure never to let down his guard just because he seemed to always be able to out smart them. He knew that the moment he relaxed would be the time he was caught, but what if they had not known that?

He had never shared the details of planning with them, they had not been interested in that way. He was the smart one, and they trusted him, and Shaw had been the only one who involved himself in the planning. Oh, he would ask for opinions, and they would ask things, but it was more because they wanted to know how things were going along.

If they had gotten into trouble it would be his fault for abandoning them, yet they would not want anything to do with him anymore, not after he was the one who lost Shaw. How could they not hate him for that. He hated himself for that.

Oh, well. They were hating him as well, so he guessed that everything was as it should.

When he finally got home he was feeling numb beyond caring about anything at all. He just dropped out on top of his bed, not even kicking off his shoes, the thought never crossed his mind. His mind was to occupied with all the ways he had failed his men, and his friends.

* * *

When Charlotte got back she went straight to the museum, Ian would be there this time of the day. She looked into the back room where he would be working, no one bothered about her anymore. They had gotten so used to seeing her come and go that no one thought twice about it. 

She entered the room expecting to see him studying some artefact. She had planned to sneak in and give him a kiss, but now she stopped in the doorway. She spun around on her heel and headed back into the main museum to search for that mace. She was going to hit him over the head with it. She was so going to hit him over the head with it.

She was away for no more than a week, and what happened? He looked like if he had not slept during that whole time. She was willing to bet that he had not eaten either then, and she had given him strict orders. She had told him that she would only be gone a little while, and he had not seemed to mind. He had seemed to understand why her father wanted her along.

He had understood she reflected, Ian had been happy for her since she was looking forward to it. It would have to be more to it than the fact that she had left him alone for a few days, and if she used a mace she would most likely not find out.

She decided that she should go and take care of him, get him back into working order, and then once she had made him tell her what had been going on, if she did not like it she could always use the mace later.

She turned around again and went back into the room where Ian was.

"What are you doing?" She asked. It was not the tender way she had expected to greet him, but at least it would not make him as tender as he would have been had she greeted him with the mace.

He was sitting at the table with a goblet in front of him, his hand resting close to it, when she asked him that he bent his head down.

Like a ostrich, afraid of the scolding and hoping that she would not see him.

She stood behind him and embraced him. "Ian, what happened?" She asked softly.

"I'm a failure." He mumbled, she could hardly hear what he said, because as if he tried to make it a single word.

"Who have said that? Ben?" She asked furiously. If Ben had said anything he should not have, then Charlotte would only have one question to ask him. Which one of his balls would he prefer to get jammed down his throat? For if Ben had been here and harmed Ian, then she would make sure that he at least could not reproduce.

Ian shook his head, then he gave a dry laugh, a humourless one. "No, Ben did not, hasn't been here. No, I'm the smart one, I figured it out all on my own." Then he gave a shriek of pain and looked up at her startled.

Women were not the weaker sex, that much was certain, that had hurt a lot. He rubbed a tender spot and wondered how she could induce more pain with one quick movement than he and his men had been able to in any of their fits of rough and tumble.

"Not so bloody smart if you think I'd let you speak like that." Charlotte hissed. "Now will you tell me what the hell has been going on here?"

Ian gave her a pleading look, and the only reason why she relented was that no doggie in any window had ever looked that pitiful.

"I don't wanna talk about that." Ian whispered.

"Will you at least give in then and allow me to take care of you?" She demanded.

Ian gave a reluctant nod. "You promise not to do that?" He was not sure of exactly what she had done, but it had been effective. It was still throbbing painfully. He whished that he had known how to do that a few years ago. If he had, he would have been the sole commander of the remote.

"As long as you obey me and don't make a fuss." Charlotte promised. She might not have had any brothers, but a male cousin or two could always come in handy. Especially when they were all to happy to teach her about those useful tricks.

Ian gave a small nod, he was prepared to do anything that she commanded of him. He was too weary and drained to care too much, but anything to spare himself her wrath. Experience had taught him that it was just as bad no matter how tired one was. In fact, it only got worse, because she would not cut you any slack because you could hardly even keep on your feet. In fact, she would just be more merciless. Better then to not object.

"Can you go home for the day?" She asked him, and why did she sound so gentle now? Was she planning on actually showing some mercy, or was she trying to lure him into a false feeling of security?

"No, I should be finishing this." He hoped that she would not do any permanent damage to him if it was the wrong answer.

"Okay, but we are going home as soon as you are done, understood." There, that was that edge of danger in her voice that he had learnt to pay heed to. He nodded. He was not stupid, he knew how sharp that edge was.

Charlotte would have preferred to drag him home by the scruff of his neck, but if Ian had already been mentioning failure, then it was better to allow him to feel that he had fulfilled at least that obligation. She had learnt how he worked, Ian was hard on himself, and you had better not give him the opportunity to feel he had neglected something. It took him all of a split second to get that idea into his head, and it took her weeks to convince him of the opposite.

Obviously he had gotten the idea that he had failed at something while she was away, but there was nothing much to be done about that now. More than tie him to a chair and jam some food down his throat. Then, he would be going to bed early today.

Ian shivered in spite of the room being warm enough, he suddenly had the feeling that his near future was being planned heedless to his wishes. He considered bolting for it, but as weary as he was he would not even get to the door. Getting out of her reach would prove impossible to say the least.

"Come now Ian." Charlotte took his hand when it was time to leave home. He was acting a bit strangely, even for Ian. He bent his head down to nuzzle her neck while they walked. Or not really nuzzling, it was more as if he wanted to avoid looking at the road where they were going. She had never seen Ian doing that before, he usually did not agree to any too obvious show of affection out on the streets.

Then again, it might be that he was close to falling asleep. Whatever it was she had to admit that she did not particularly mind it. He was sweet when he was doing that. It only took the smallest nudge to make him sit down onto the couch, or maybe drop down was a more correct word for it. He certainly was not at his most graceful in the movements, and he did not even bother with anything at all.

Not surprisingly there was no new groceries in the kitchen. Well, she had not expected Ian to fill up the supplies. He would go out and eat something if he was left on his own. It was probably best that way to, considering what she knew of his cooking abilities. If he were left to make his own food he would probably make himself sick.

Her father had always told her that she should not allow herself to be put in the woman role where she would be cooking and cleaning for a man. The way she saw it there was no danger, Ian was not untidy, and he was no stranger for cleaning equipment, and if she was doing all the cooking, then it was for her own safety.

Ian had offered to cook one meal some time ago, and she had decided that it was after all edible. It had however come as a surprise to her that it was macaroni she was eating. Was macaroni supposed to be looking like mashed potatoes, and then be crispy. After that she had banned him from the kitchen, or at least from cooking duty.

There was only really one thing that Ian could cook, fried bread, egg and bacon. That he could manage if you did not mind the occasional piece of egg shell in the eggs.

"Ian, the food is ready." She called out into the living room. She was not really sure whether she expected a reply or not. It varied, earlier when he was in such a low mode he would not, otherwise he would come into the kitchen. Sometimes if whatever she was cooking smelled good enough he would be coming before she called. Not to say anything that Ian would go there just to keep her company while she cooked.

"Ian." She called again while she set the table, but it appeared that he would not be coming on his own this time.

She walked out into the living room to see him standing by the window, leaning against the wall like he did when he was in a real brooding mood. Looking but not seeing anything.

She walked up to him and circled her arms around him.

"Ian, come and eat now." She murmured softly.

Charlotte did not let go of him either, for he leaned against her just the slightest, so using that she began inching towards the kitchen and he followed her.

"Come, you need to eat some." She said soothingly as she sat him down at the table, serving him of the food. Not filling his plate, if it looked like too much food he usually ate less than if she gave him less to start with. Now he ate mechanically, as if he took no note at all of how it tasted. She guessed that that was how he could eat his own cooking. He ate mechanically as if he did not even notice the fact that he was eating.

Put the fork down to his plate, and then up to his mouth, and then he did not stop until the plate was empty. When he could not find anymore food on his plate. Then he was tracing lines on the plate with the fork.

Charlotte suppressed a sigh, she was calling him in sick in the morning, that much was sure. She would not allow him to go back there for a day or two. Then she reached over and plucked the fork from his hand, he did not even look up at her when she did that.

"Come Ian, it's your bedtime." She said softly as she pulled him to his feet. Helping him to undress.

Ian looked at her when she had tipped him down on the bed, on his stomach, she would make sure that he slept. Still he twisted his head to look at her with eyes that could put a puppy to shame. "Sorry." He muttered.

"Just relax Ian, none of this is your fault." She bent down to kiss his neck softly. Then moving to kneading his shoulders and back. It was only a few minutes before he slept, and he really was so sweet when he was so predictable.

One thing worried her though. Ian slept like a babe after he was put to sleep, but he awoke in the middle of the night, shivering and sweating. Gasping for breath, yet he made not a sound. She awoke because he bolted upright, and then he just sat there, gasping.

She sat up to hold him. "Ian, what's wrong?"

"Falling." Ian choked out between two gasps for air. "Saw him falling." He squeezed his eyes shut and covered his face in his hands. "My fault. Let him down. Falling."

Charlotte bit back a curse, he had to be talking about Shaw, it had to be that, it was the only thing that made sense. It was the only one he could have seen falling. The others had told him about that, about what had happened after they left Ben and the others in the church.

They had come out, and the others had reacted when there was no Shaw with him. It was a shake of the head from behind Ian's back that had made them refrain from questions, that and a sad look towards the shaft.

Ian had gotten several blocks away, then he had not been able to hold up any longer. He had lashed out at the nearest wall with a curse, not screaming with rage as some would have. Just a silent and almost calm strike against the wall with his fist. Then he had sunk down on the ground, shoulders shaking, he was not crying, Ian did not cry. It was long since he had cried. He just did not know what to do, and then he had collected himself, rose from the ground and turned to face the others. 

They looked as haggard and grief struck as he did, for by now they all knew what had happened.

"_We go on?" You had to know Ian well if you were to be able to tell that it was a question and not an order, but he was leaving them the choice. If they wanted Ian would quit and give up. He would stand down and they would leave, not bothering to try and follow up on the last clue. _

_They knew it, it was their choice, and they all nodded. To give up would be to say that Shaw had lost his life for nothing, to go on, that was what Shaw would have wanted. So they nodded, all of them, and Ian nodded in return. _

_If they still trusted him, then he would do his best to make sure no harm befell on them._

_That was what hurt so badly he noted when they flung him against the side of the car. Not the fact that he was slammed against hard metal, but the fact that he was no longer allowed to go on for Shaw. The fact that now he no longer had any control of what happened with the others. He could try and keep them from jail, and he would try to. _

_They had never been in prison before, only he and Shaw had ever been doing time before, and they knew how bad it was. _

_That was the one motivation he did not tell Ben during their talk, the fact that he would not bother to try anything of what he said he could for himself, but he would if it meant he could get his men out of prison. _

_He had cost them Shaw, he deserved it he thought as he sat waiting for Ben, but he would not cost them several years of their lives as well. He would not see them wind up in prison for years. He had failed them once, but on that he would succeed. _

"Ian, you only ever did the best you could for them." She said softly, stroking his hair hoping to calm him. "They know that, they do not think you failed them or Shaw in any way, because you really did not. Really Ian, you did not."

She held him and kept murmuring comforting things to him until he fell back asleep again. She had not seen him suffer nightmares at all before, but if he had been having so bad dreams when she was away, then she could understand how he had come to sink so low in spirit. It would be wearing him down when he had nowhere to turn for comfort.

Not that Ian willingly turned for comfort, no, you had to spin him around on your own. When you did that you could comfort him, but only then.

* * *

This is the end of this chapter, I shall update again in two weeks, and keep the updates up every second week. 

I want to thank everyone who read my earlier National Treasure story, thank you, all of you.

Here are review responses from my first story, again thank you, all of you:

Earendil Eldar: Yes, there is some improvement, and yet, he has such a far way to go. Ben did however keep a promise, and he does care, he's just to caught up in himself. Ian does however need to have someone else to care for in order to care for himself. Oh, not only riding on the beach, but the pub sounds lovely, you know what they say about Guinnes? You don't drink it, you eat it. A properly poured Guinnes and you can lift the foam out with a bottle opener. One of these days, I'll try it.

Jen Lennon: Charlotte and Ian are indeed getting closer to each other in many ways. Mainly because Charlotte knows what she wants, what she thinks is the right thing to do, and she does not waste time by letting him have any say. I'm glad you think the pace work. I can write things with action, I do it more in my James Bond fics, but here, there was so much action in the movie, that I could not really have the same pace here. I am really grateful that you like it thought, thanks.

Silveni: Ah, your reviews are great to read. I enjoy them very much. I try to write the characters the same way as they appeared to me when I watched them in the movie. I also find it a bit hard to write about what characters are wearing in any detail, I tend to focus more on their actions and feelings. Clothes play in at times, but not as often as in other things I've read. Thank you again for those kind words.

Celebwen Telcontar: It seems the cooking joke is quite popular. It also fits rather well. Ah, yes, Shaw's memory is always there, if not he is. He meant a lot to all of them, and especially to Ian, they were a close knitted group, and it shows. Especially now on Ian. Thank you very much, it is great to know you're reading.


	10. So, I’m going to…

Author's note: This is based on the movie National Treasure, and is to a great deal dedicated to the more than worthy performance of Sean Bean. I enjoyed the movie very much, but I thought that since Ben and Ian often used similar methods to reach the same goal, I did not see one of them as more evil than the other. I also thought that the hints of the friendship we saw between them should be explored more. I began doing that in 'Who Did You Say Stole the Declaration,' this story takes up a short time after that one ended, and is my version of what happened next. I hope you all shall like it.

Big thanks to LadyDeb1970 who have been going over this for me, and helped me with plot and story ideas. Also to Celebrion for being my beta.

Disclaimer: I do not own National Treasure. I just borrowed it because I like Sean Bean as an actor. I will return all characters in good and whole order, completely undamaged, if covered with a slight glue residue from having been put together again. I also swear I will not make any serious attempt at stealing Ian. More than I already have that is…

The name of Thomas McDowell have been stolen from LadyDeb1970, with her kind permission, as well as one or two other details.

/Elenhin

* * *

10 **_So, I'm going to….._**

He kept waking up like that, not screaming as Charlotte would have thought, but covered in cold sweat, trembling and gasping for breath. He would not tell her what the nightmares were about.

Yet if she asked him while he was still disoriented he would say something about Shaw, and falling. So it did not take much of a genius to figure it out.

All she could do was pull him down and hold him close. It usually calmed him down after some time. After she got back it was at least manageable, which was a good thing for she had some news for him.

She had checked one thing while she was away, she had also talked it over with her father, and he was happy for them. She would have hoped that Ian would get over the nightmares first, before she told him the news. On the other hand if she waited too long there would be no time to tell him. He would figure it out on his own before long.

She told him one night when they had gone to bed, and Ian was holding one arm around her, and caressing her belly with the other hand.

"Ian." She gave him a kiss on the cheek to get his attention and he turned

his full attention to her. His hand still but his thumb moving in circles on her belly.

"Do you know that you would make a great father." How ever did you tell a guy something like this. She had no idea. Ian had stopped his movement with his thumb. He was looking at her calculatingly, taking in all the details and she knew that his brain was working as hard as ever.

"If you wanted to have a kid, you would not put it like that." Ian said thoughtfully. "So I assume…" His voice trailed off as if he could not say it. He was looking at her stomach as if he expected to see something there.

She nodded. "It was not my intent Ian." She said soothingly, she was not sure what he would think about this.

"So, I am going to..." Ian broke off again, he could not say it. It was to big, he would be no better at taking care of a child then he had been of taking care of his men.

"You are Ian, you are gonna become a father." Charlotte was not sure what he was thinking, and she worried that he would not want that. "The best father I could imagine for a child of mine."

Ian sat up and shook his head. "I could not even take care of grown men, I could not even keep them safe. I don't even know what they are doing now, how can you imagine that I could take care of a child."

She sat up as well and draped her arm around him. "Ian, would you ever let a child come to harm, any child?"

He shook his head.

"Then I want you as a father to mine." She kissed his cheek lightly. "I am sorry if it is not what you want though."

Ian's hand came back to rest upon her belly, and this time there was something else in his touch, as if he was trying to determine if there was anything different. As if he wanted to know if he could get a feel of the child growing there.

Charlotte had to laugh, Ian looked like the young boy who had been told that there was a puppy in his Christmas gift, and was now prodding the box gently to see if it could be true. He did not even seem to notice the fact that she was laughing, he was to occupied with his own thoughts.

His eyes held a curiosity that she had never seen in him before, it was a remarkable thing to behold, he seemed utterly oblivious to all but to the fact that she had just told him that she was carrying his child. Nothing else mattered to him anymore.

Well, at least it allowed her to know that he was happy with it. He would not look that way if he did not want the child. He just would not. It would be interesting to see what some others she knew would say about it.

When Charlotte opened her arms in the morning she came to realise that it was morning, and not even once had Ian woken from the nightmares.

On the other hand, when she looked at him she was doubtful if he had slept at all. He was supporting himself on one elbow, and the fool was looking at her stomach. Apparently unaware that she was even awake. He just was not paying any attention to her face this day.

"Ian." She said softly, and now he turned to look at her. Grinning like the bloody fool he was, the cutest fool she had ever seen.

"A child." He said in a whisper and reached out to stroke her belly.

"I guess that I do not have to ask whether you are happy about it or not." She laughed. "You will be a great father Ian, a great father."

"Just to be a father." He shook his head. "I never thought I would. I never thought about it, I never dared because I thought that it could never be."

"It will be." Charlotte kissed him again. "It's time to get up Ian, and you should have slept some."

Ian knew she was right, he felt tired, but he did not think he could sleep. He had not been able to after she had told him. How could he sleep after she had told him something like that. He was far too happy.

* * *

"Will you look at that." Victor shook his head as Ian and Charlotte walked away. "What the bloody hell is going on with him."

Phil looked and chuckled. "That, is love." He grinned.

"He's been in love the whole time." Victor made frowned and choke his head. "Will you just look at him. He's been so miserable, and then he's like that."

Ian looked happier than they had seen him in a long time. Victor had doubted that they would ever seen him that happy again.

"I wonder what's happened?" Victor said thoughtfully.

"I don't really care." Phil shrugged. "Least he's looking better. Figures it has to be a good thing."

* * *

Ian found it oddly hard to concentrate, normally he could shut out everything and concentrate, but now he could not. His mind kept drifting of to the fact that he was to become a father, and his eyes kept drifting of to rest on Charlotte's stomach.

He had never dared to think that he would become a father one day, it was such a frightening thought. Not only the worry that he would be a bad father, but also the memory of his own parents.

He knew how it was to lose his parents at a young age. Not only the grief and the fact that you were alone for the rest of your life. Especially since he had had no other living relative that he knew of. Maybe one or two distant, but no one to turn to.

There was never anyone who had contacted him about it, and he knew of no one.

Then there was the part of supporting yourself in the world when you had no parents.

At fifteen it had been a big problem, he had nearly not made it.

He had forged notices from a 'guardian' to make the school think that he was not living alone. He had forged signatures on grades and other notes. It had been a hell at times to keep up the charade. Luckily the school was to busy too check it out fully.

Ian told them that he was living with his uncle, and they never checked closer than that. As long as he made sure the bills and the rents got paid it was no trouble with the house, but he got the money on more illegal ways.

There just was no way for you to earn that kind of money legally when you were fifteen, and he did not want to let them know he was on his own.

If the Principal of the school knew that he would get in touch with some social worker or another, and then Ian would not be in charge of his own life anymore.

He had preferred then to do things his own way, and he had managed well enough. At least he thought so himself.

Then Charlotte's voice broke through his thoughts.

"What are you thinking about, Ian? You look so worried." She reached over to hug him.

"I am just scared about all the things that can happen." He admitted in a murmur. "I lost my parents, what if we have a child, and then we can not always be there for that child. I am scared that I will be a bad father no matter how hard I try not to."

Charlotte chuckled lightly. "What would you say if I told you that I am terrified, both that I will not be a good enough mother, and not good enough for you. Ian, everyone fears that they will not be good enough to care for those we love."

"Yeah, but everyone does not have a long list of faults even before the kid is born." Ian fidgeted. "What in school, when the child is asked about what his parents does. Shall he say that his father is a criminal, and what about forcing a child to admit that yes, she is the daughter of the one who stole the Declaration of Independence."

Charlotte would have told him to stop it, but he was not ready to listen to reason yet. It seemed better to allow him to voice his worries, and then deal with them when he was out of breath.

"Am I going to be telling stories of how it is to be on the wrong side of the law." Ian fretted. "And what when I have to admit that I 'have' been in jail. What child would ever want a father who had served time. I just can't see it Charlotte." He shook his head desperately. "Child wouldn't want anything to do with me. And just imagine what other kids would do when they found out who his father was. It just would not be fair to a child."

This time Charlotte silenced him, with a kiss. "Ian, slow down." Had he even drawn a breath there. "You will not be a bad father, you are a too wonderful man to be a bad father. Also, no child would stop loving his or her father just because he once made a mistake. It will be fine Ian, you just need to get used to the idea." She said soothingly.

Ian groaned and dipped his head. "And what will your father say about it. Do you really think that he will approve?"

"I think that his exact words were something like, 'Then at least the brat will know what it wants, and how to get it.'" Charlotte smiled. It was about what her father had said. Once he had finished jumping with joy.

"I have never seen him so happy since I was a kid Ian, and he thought you would be an excellent father." She laughed. "Even suggested that it would be useful for any brat to have a father who knew how to run things smoothly without always bothering if it was legal or not. My father thinks that you will make the perfect father for his grandchild."

"Your father thinks that I am good for you." Ian snorted. "He's clearly not capable of a trustworthy judgement. Anyone can see that it is you who is good for me, and I have thus far not contributed with anything."

Ah, she had just been waiting for a comment like that from him.

"Ian, I am expecting." She stated in a voice that suggested that she was explaining something very obvious for a small child. Well, Ian was close enough for that description to fit. "If you have not contributed with anything to me, then would you then be so kind as to tell me how the hell that could happen. If not, then will you please realise that you are one of the best things that's ever happened to me, and then shut up and stop whining."

He did shut up, but he gave her a sheepish grin. She supposed that it was just worry. Ian was clearly new to these things. She was not sure whether he had had any experience of pregnancy before, but she was willing to bet that he had not.

She herself had seen carrying women, and she had even seen a few friends carry to term, and seen the infants grow. It would be Ian, who had not really had any real female friends, who would not know anything about it

She supposed that she would have to deal with a frightened Ian once or twice while she carried to term, and that it might even come to keeping him from bolting. He would want to think that it was best for the child. It appeared that when he was frightened, he tried to tell himself that he would be the reason it would not work. She did however have full faith in him. He was not the kind of man to run out on you. He was just a frightened little boy himself.

If Ian did not come to his senses about it soon she would force him to confront his men, for he would need them later in her pregnancy. Someone who could block the door when something scared him. He would most definitely need them in a month or two.

* * *

"Tell me again where we are?" Ben asked as Abigail pulled up in the parking lot.

"We are at the school I have been in contact with." Abigail told him. "I asked if I could come and speak with them, and they agreed."

Ben nodded, he had gone along as company, he had not really paid any attention to where they were going.

"It was that McDowell? Was it not?" He asked.

Abigail nodded. "He was in this school. We should be able to find out something more about his past if we can not find out anymore about where he is now." She eyed the school building. It looked far too new, it should have been an older building, and yet it did not look that old at all. "We are to speak with a Mrs Simmerson."

They found Mrs Simmerson in an office deep inside the school. She was an elderly lady. Old enough that she would not be teaching for many more years, but Ben thought that she appeared nice enough.

She stood when they entered the office and walked over to them. "Mrs Gates, and Mr Gates, a pleasure to meet you." She smiled as she shook their hands.

"I understood that you could tell us about Thomas McDowell." Abigail smiled warmly at the woman.

Mrs Simmerson waved them to sit down in the two chairs that stood in front of her desk. She nodded.

"I can tell you about him yes, I was teaching here then, though I was much younger then. I am however afraid that there is little else I can do for you." She looked around herself ruefully. "There was a fire here, it destroyed the building utterly, we have no old records or anything. Nothing that can be of use at least, and odd item here or there survived, but that is all."

"What a shame." Abigail declared, it explained why the school looked so new though. The building was not very old.

Mrs Simmerson nodded. "A real shame, there were many fine things that were lost, and you would not believe the irony of the things that survived." She gave a small smile. "We have kept everything that could be saved, and it have given our students many laughs, as you shall see if you allow me to show you around while we talk."

"It sounds like a nice idea." Abigail beamed.

Ben agreed as well, it would certainly be preferable to sit around in an office the whole time.

They left the office and went into the corridor. The school consisted of a large building, and a smaller one. Where the students were having their physical education they were told.

"Was it not hard to recall just one student from so long ago?" Ben asked. He was certain that it had to be very hard for a teacher to recall one student out of thousands.

Mrs Simmerson shook her head. "Normally it would be impossible, but Thomas was one of our more memorable students. For various reasons." She smiled as she said the last sentence.

"Sadly enough I recall him because he was in my class when he was informed that he had lost his parents."

"How did that happen?" Abigail asked. "I read that it was an accident."

Mrs Simmerson stopped for a moment.

"He was called to the Principal we had then, and then he did not return until the next day. I was informed later after class. There was an accident yes. His parents were working at rearranging something in the museum where they worked. There was a heavy beam in the ceiling that was supposed to support something else. I think that the museum was opening a new section and was arranging it for the public." She paused to draw a deep breath. "The beam fell and his mother was caught beneath it, I was told that his father tried to save her, and was trapped as well. His mother was dead even before she could be taken to the hospital, and his father died at the hospital a few hours later."

"That's horrible." Abigail gasped.

Mrs Simmerson shook his head. "What was horrible was that they did not see fit to notify us until after his father had died as well. It was then that the hospital called us, and then he was told that both his parents were dead."

"How could they not notify you as immediately after the accident?" Ben wanted to know. It sounded unbelievable.

"The museum would not take any responsibility." Mrs Simmerson said. "They said that his parents had not been supposed to be where they were, and so it was not their responsibility, they also claimed that it was the hospital that should have notified the family. After that Thomas lived with an older relative, but I do not think I ever met him. Thomas was a rather solitary young man, and we never saw much of his parents here either."

"What a tragedy." Abigail sighted heavily. "The poor boy to have to suffer through that."

"I trust that he was given support here?" Ben noted. It sounded impossible that something like that could happen.

"We made sure that he knew he could turn to us." She nodded. "We kept an eye on him as much as we were able to. Though he was the kind of young men who liked to believe that he did not need any help from anyone."

They continued down the corridor and Ben thought that he could understand the longing to prove that you could take care of yourself. Even if Abigail was more inclined to feel sorry for the young boy who had no doubt suffered much for his pride.

"Thomas was a very unusual student." Mrs Simmerson went on. "I do not think that we have had many students that were so bright, and all of the others concentrated on getting scholarships."

"He did not?" Abigail asked surprised.

"No." Mrs Simmerson shook her head with a smile. "My god, no. Thomas was to busy being a rascal. If there was one single prank that he did not play on us, then it was because he did not have time for it." She smiled fondly as if she treasured the memory.

"He was a troublesome student then." Ben noted, it sounded like it. If he had been like that they must have been glad to be rid of him. He himself had been one of the more intelligent lads in school, and the school had appreciated the fact that they had him.

"Oh, no he was not." Mrs Simmerson laughed. "Not at all. He kept the others in line. All the other students followed his lead, and he knew where the line went. So at least we knew what to expect, though I suspect that he might have been up to other things that would not be so good." She smiled again. "Thomas was the lad who somehow got access to the kitchen, and had all the eggs painted. It was impossible to prove that it was him, it always was, but it could not have been anyone else either."

Mrs Simmerson stopped in front of a cupboard. There were a few cups there, and there was a molten heap of gleaming metal. It looked like if one of the cups had been placed into an oven.

"That cup was one of the few that almost survived the fire." She said with a small smile. "We keep it here on display with the others, and the students think that it is funny."

Abigail could understand that, the badly missshapen cup looked rather funny. She had not expected something like this, except for a few memories there was no information of Thomas McDowell to be found, nothing that she had not known before.

A few school stories about a young lad was not enough to find someone by. It was just not enough to go by. She would need a lot more, and she had already tried everything that she thought could give results.

It was possible that he had gone abroad, or there would be a head stone in a graveyard somewhere where it was impossible to find him. It might very well be that her missing McDowell was a John Doe at some graveyard somewhere, and what good would that do her.

Instead she decided to get in touch with the law firm again. Once more try to convince them to allow her to go into the castle. There had to be somewhere in that castle where the letters where being kept, and she was certain that she would be able to find them if only she was allowed in there.

"Anything else you want to do?" Ben asked her as they were in the car home.

"Not really." She shook her head ruefully. "I had hoped that that would have given more."

"How would you have been able to know that there had been a fire." Ben grinned. "At least we know now that he was a worse prankster then even Tom Sawyer."

Abigail laughed at the description. "It would seem like that, yes." She agreed. "I am thinking of trying to make that law firm let me in again. They are so very difficult, but really it should be possible."

Ben nodded. "You wrestle with them, and I wrestle with Riley."

"Why would you wrestle with him." Abigail was getting curious.

"I am trying to convince him to go with me and see Ian. I think that it would be good for him to see that Ian is not all that bad." Ben shrugged. "And I think that now would be a good time. Not even Riley can be afraid of Ian at the moment. He could not look like a threat if he wanted to."

Abigail reflect for a moment over that for a moment, it did not seem nice to Ian to do it that way, but she was too busy to figure out what to do to think much about it. She was certain that Ben meant no harm, and if it made Riley get over his fear for Ian, then what harm could it do.

She concentrated on her own problems instead.

* * *

"No, Ben no. Never, not on your life." Riley was holding his hands in front of him as if he was trying to fend of Ben's suggestion.

He had not been fond of the suggestion that he would go along and see Ian.

"Riley, he is not so bad." Ben tried. "He is much like before. Only not really, but he is not so bad, he has a girl now, and she seems to be keeping him in check."

"You can not keep Ian in check." Riley burst out. "It is impossible. He'll kill us, I just know that he will."

"No Riley, he will not I promise." Ben tried to calm him. "He has behaved perfectly since he got to the museum. And you know that he was perfectly all right before."

"Before he tried to kill us, yeah." Riley objected.

Ben had just dragged him along, and Riley had not thought to ask where they were going until he was standing in the front room in the lobby. Now, he was digging his heels in and refusing to go any further.

"He never really tried to kill us Riley, and you know that." Ben tried to reason with him.

"He is just a complete maniac." Riley objected.

"Ben, you really should not try to force him." The calm and steady voice was coming from behind them, and they both of them turned to see Ian standing there. He looked sad and worn down, and Ben realised that he had heard all of it, or at least most of it.

Beside him Riley swallowed hard.

"Riley, no one shall force you to go any closer to me than you want to." Ian said slowly. "If you don't trust me I can understand that. You chose yourself."

Riley swallowed again. He had not expected Ian to say something like that, he had not expected him to look so dejected. He had not thought that it was even possible for Ian to look so dejected, but he did.

He looked as if he was bone weary, and he did not look scary then. He also had not expected that Ian would show any understanding for his position. He had thought that the man would be angry at them, but he did not appear to be. He just looked tired.

Yet he did not know what to say, so he wound up standing there with his mouth ajar and trying to order his thoughts.

"I am sorry for what I put you through Riley, really sorry."

"Er, you, are sorry?" Riley repeated confused. "I did not think you would ever be sorry for anything. I mean, it did not seem like you ever would."

"Things are not always what they seem Riley." Ian said slowly and carefully. "I am sorry for a lot of things, not the least for what happened then, but for other things as well."

"Eh, that's, well weird." Riley half stuttered. "I never thought that you would be sorry for anything."

"Riley, have you ever regretted anything, anything at all?" Ian tilted his head to the side slightly while he asked the question.

"Um, yeah, I guess so." Riley nodded and Ben just looked at the two of them. He was not sure whether the exchange was frightening or not.

"Then is it really so surprising that I regret things as well?" Ian spoke softly. He did not want Riley to be so frightened of him that he recoiled, he was going to become a father, he did not want anyone to shy away from him in fright then.

How would it be for a child to see people shun away from him whenever they was out somewhere. If he was to become a father, then he would make his best to avoid all of these things.

Even beside that, he did not like it when someone was frightened of him, not even Riley whom he still thought was obnoxious. Riley needed a good example, and Ian was not sure if Ben was the right one.

Ben might be kind enough to him, but he also tended to ignore him if Abigail was near. Ian had noticed that during the last part of the treasure hunt.

Ben valued Abigail's thoughts and opinions more than Riley's, and he could just not see himself doing that with his men. They had all been just as valuable to him. Shaw had been his closest friend, but he still did not put Shaw before one of the others. If he did that he would be doing something very wrong, both to himself, Shaw and the others.

None of them would benefit from it, and Ben had yet to see that. Had to understand that you could not listen to someone more than the other just because you thought that one was prettier. That was when you made mistakes.

Ian had found it difficult to stand Riley most of the time, but whenever he spoke he had paid attention, if not fully so listening with a half an ear while he continued with what he was doing, that way, should Riley say something useful, Ian would be able to act upon it.

Someday he would just have to tell Ben what made a good leader.

"I guess, not." Riley murmured. He had just come to the conclusion that maybe Ian would not kill him for the sake of it. It was an interesting notion, and not all unpleasant. In fact, the only thing left that was unpleasant, was that Riley could not keep from wondering what it would take to really make Ian kill him.

He had a distinct feeling that he would prefer not to know.

Especially as it would take some experimenting.

For the moment he decided that he was safe enough, Ian did not look that he would do much of anything at all. He was just standing there as if he was waiting for Ben to make the first move.

It was not a power play in any way, it was as if Ian did not really care what Ben would do, but he was still waiting for him to make the first move.

Ben cleared his throat. "Have you eaten yet Ian?" He asked since he could not come up with anything.

Ian shook his head. "Charlotte went out, she said she'd bring something back."

"The two of you would not consider joining us?" Since he still could not come up with anything better than that Ben was reluctant to give up on the idea.

"I don't think I'd mind." Ian offered a small smile. "Would be up to her and Riley though."

"I would." Riley broke off with a cough. "I would not mind, I think." He finished. The way things were now he actually thought that he would not mind all that much.

"Up to Charlotte then." Ben noted, with a heavy voice. He did not think that Charlotte liked him very much, he had to admit that maybe she had a reason for it, but still, he had done the best he could, and he would have hoped that she would have appreciated that. It was not easy to do all the things he did. It was very time demanding after all.

Now there was a smile tugging at the corner of Ian's lips. "I fear she likes you about as much as Abigail likes me." He noted. "You need not fear her though, Ben. As sharp as her bark is I have yet to see her bite." He added that teasingly for he had just seen her come through the door.

"I very well will bite if you are talking that way about me every way I turn my back." She growled, though with a smile.

Riley still gave her a startled look as if he was contemplating flight.

Ian gave him a reassuring smile as he watched Charlotte walk up to Ben, he had come to learn that look in her eye. This would be amusing, and he also gave Riley a small nod and jerked his head in their direction. Just a tiny gesture, barely enough for Riley to notice it, but Riley did and now he watched Ben.

Charlotte had stepped over to Ben, by a sheer coincidence she had come to stand between Ian and Ben, unless you knew her well enough to be able to see that it was with purpose.

"You and me need to settle this." Charlotte stated in the way a business woman would handle a meeting. "I was angry because I was worried about Ian, now that things have worked out, you no longer have to worry. You are quite safe Gates."

She extended her hand and Ben could not do anything else but shake it. Ian admired the way she handled those things, and Riley was staring at them. He had not seen anyone else handle Ben so fast and smoothly before.

It was an interesting experience to say the least, Charlotte told you what to do, and you did it. Riley could see that she probably had not left Ian much more choice in any matter than she did Ben. It was a scary thought. He was however beginning to think that Charlotte could be far more dangerous than Ian to anger. Not in the same way though. Oddly enough Riley thought that he would prefer an angered Ian to an angered Charlotte, and up until this point he had not thought that there could be anything worse than an angry Ian.

Not that he had ever seen Ian really angry, he had just seen him angry enough to have a fairly good idea what it would be like.

The strangest thing was that not once while they were eating did he feel afraid at all of Ian. It was almost pleasant. Ian was calm and steady, it was he and Ben who were more nervous. Charlotte was watchful, but she was pleasant enough.

Riley had not thought that he would be able to feel safe with Ian outside prison, but he was feeling safe enough.

After they had eaten they dropped Ian and Charlotte off at the museum, and when Ben asked Riley was forced to admit that it had not been so bad at all.

* * *

This is the end of this chapter, I shall update again in two weeks, and keep the updates up every second week.

I want to thank everyone who read my earlier National Treasure story, thank you, all of you.

Here are review responses from my first story, again thank you, all of you:

Silveni: Yeah, Ian is sad, for as much as Charlotte would like to, she can't just kiss it all better. If that was possible, Ian would never worry about anything ever again. Ah, the cooking joke, that is growing from what I had first intended, but it is a good one, so I don't mind. It will also appear more time. I just need to finish this first.

Earendil Eldar: Powerful influence does not really cut it when it comes to Charlotte. She does not trust him to make the right choice, so she don't give him any. At times that is a good thing, but it can also be bad. You can't take a guy like Ian, rein him in to short and expect him to be happy. He needs freedom, and even freedom to make mistakes. Hm, Friday, two more days to the big game, or, rather I'm still on the yesterday side of midnight, but tomorrow will be busy, I have to go to the very evil people, and they won't let me go the whole day…… I hope it'll be alright though, but I wanted this up now to be sure.

Celebwen Telcontar: Yeah, unpredictable is another way to describe Ian, but really, if he was to predictable, this would not be any fun. A lot of people seem curious about Thomas McDowell, and he is another interesting lad. In a very odd way, he is related to Ian, that is right, but just how he is related I will not tell you just yet.

Jen Lennon: Homework, sounds evil. And yeah, Charlotte is a strong women, don't think I could write a wimp, I'm not very good at them. Pom-poms, so Charlotte has a fan club now, that is kinda cool. Hm, sadly, I have all the chapters already written, to make sure there wont be a stop because of writers block, but I think that there is a time or two when Ian breaks down, as for the declaration of undying love, I rather think that is worked in into this chapter as well, seeing as how Ian is to be a father now.

Lady Elbereth Tealrose: Good job El, show the, eh, dork? Hmm, Ian a dork, nahh, he is to cute for that. But I know what you mean, next time he gets stupid ideas, we whack him, deal? Of course I'll write more, I'm working on the sequel….. Take care now.


	11. You're Lucky That I Don't Hit Friends

Author's note: This is based on the movie National Treasure, and is to a great deal dedicated to the more than worthy performance of Sean Bean. I enjoyed the movie very much, but I thought that since Ben and Ian often used similar methods to reach the same goal, I did not see one of them as more evil than the other. I also thought that the hints of the friendship we saw between them should be explored more. I began doing that in 'Who Did You Say Stole the Declaration,' this story takes up a short time after that one ended, and is my version of what happened next. I hope you all shall like it.

Big thanks to LadyDeb1970 who have been going over this for me, and helped me with plot and story ideas. Also to Celebrion for being my beta.

Disclaimer: I do not own National Treasure. I just borrowed it because I like Sean Bean as an actor. I will return all characters in good and whole order, completely undamaged, if covered with a slight glue residue from having been put together again. I also swear I will not make any serious attempt at stealing Ian. More than I already have that is…

The name of Thomas McDowell have been stolen from LadyDeb1970, with her kind permission, as well as one or two other details.

/Elenhin

* * *

Chapter 11 **_You're Lucky That I Don't Hit Friends_**

Ian watched as Ben and Riley walked out of the door. He was experiencing mixed feelings, and without realising it he had slumped against a pillar. He felt relieved that it had gone so well. Meaning that there had been no blood flowing in the encounter between Ben and Charlotte. He felt grateful that Riley had not run away from him screaming in terror. He felt disappointed that it was still so tense between them.

Suppressing a sigh he rubbed a hand over his face. Had he done damage that could not be repaired, if it could not, then he would have doomed his child to bearing his burden. The people would not allow the child to forget the sins of the father.

What would he not do now to erase some of the mistakes of the past, but there was no mean for that. All he could do was try and mend as many breaches as he could before the child was born.

Still, if not Ben, Abigail and Riley could see past his crimes when they looked upon his child, then how would the rest of the world ever do it?

He closed his eyes and sank down to the floor. He wanted his child to have so much more than he himself had had. He wanted his child to feel she could still play with him even after her fifth birthday. He wanted for his son to know he could come and talk with him. He did not know anything about small children, but he was certain that he would learn.

It was the later years that worried him the most. An infant you could keep close and protect, but what with an older child. The infant would not know what was said about his father, and would not care, but what of later, what of when you had to send the little girl to school, and she was harassed by other children.

Young children could be so cruel. Ian had noticed that when he was in school the first day. His mother had gone with him then, because the school said a parent should be with them the first day. However his mother had only been allowed a half day off from her work, and so young Ian would be left on his own after lunch. A lot of parents left at lunch time. They had already been introduced to their class then. There were adults sitting on chairs in the class room, watching over their children. Many adults, for some had both their father and their mother with them.

_Ian had not bothered much over the fact that his mother was there, and he could manage well enough without her. _

_They were only making drawings and such anyway, an easy start for the children. Then they were asked to go up to the teacher and show their drawings to her. She collected them because afterwards they would pin them to the wall in the corridor. So when the children went up to her she wrote their name in the corner of he drawing. _

_Ian had made a drawing of a castle, he had been drawing castles ever since he had been told that he had a great aunt who lived in a castle. He had seen a few photos of the castle, and he could not wait to see how it looked. _

_Now it was almost his turn to go there with his drawing, so he took one of the crayons and wrote his name in the corner. That way she would not have to do it. It seemed logical to him, he already knew how to write his name. _

_He walked up between the rows of desks and reached up to hand the paper to the teacher. _

"_Very good." She said with a big smile. "I think that we have a little artist here." _

_Ian did not care, she had said something like that to everyone, and so it was nothing to bother about. She just said it to be nice. _

_It was when she took up her pen to write his name that Ian objected. _

"_I already wrote my name." He pointed to the green letters in the corner. _

"_No, darling. That is not your name." She checked her list while she shook her head. "You wrote Ian, your name is Thomas." Saying so she took her pencil and wrote Thomas in the corner._

"_I don't like Thomas." He had told her. "I want to be called Ian." He was a little angry that she had written something else on his drawing. _

"_Why would you want to be called something else?" She asked in that teacher voice that she used so often, as if he was too young to understand a normal voice. _

_Ian pulled himself up straighter. "My name is Ian Thomas McDowell, and I like using Ian more." He had decided that maybe she did not understand such simple things. So he added a few more words for her benefit. "See, it's shorter and much more simple to use."_

_She laughed and patted him on the cheek. "I'm afraid that we can not chose our names like that darling, now go back to your seat." _

_He had gone back, and he had thought how he did not like her. Thomas was a silly name, and his parents did not mind if he wanted to use Ian more. They said that it was his name all of it. _

_Then on the break some of the other children had tried to tease him about the occurrence. _

"_Thomas doesn't know his own name!" A boy shouted at him. "He doesn't know his own name!"_

"_Shut up!" Ian called back. He knew his name well. _

_Yet some other children took up the call, they had just found something exciting at the first day of school. It had ended with a fight, one that Ian got blamed for, he was the only child involved who did not still have his parents there. _

_The other children all told their mothers and fathers how it had been his fault, and he had stood there with a swollen lip, scraped elbows and knees and had been made to take all the blame. _

_The teacher had said that it was not a strange thing that there was a fight the first day when all the children wanted to see who would be the top dog in the pack. She gave them all a warning to behave better in the future, and Ian was forced into being called Thomas. _

Children could be so cruel, Ian thought, and adults were not always nicer to a child than other children was. He had felt protective over the child Riley had paid to get the letters from the Silence Dogood letters. He had not only paid the child so much because Riley had run off before giving him what he had promised, but also in the hopes that the lad would grow to be stronger. Not allow himself to be used so easily.

Shaw had laughed over how much he gave the lad, claiming that he had a soft spot for children, and he did. He liked children a lot.

Charlotte had to smile as she watched Ian. He was sitting with his back against the pillar, and he appeared lost in thought, and it was the way he held his arms that made her smile. He had pulled up his knees slightly, and she just knew he was thinking about the child she carried. He was holding his arms in front of him, his hands clasping at his elbows, just as if he was cradling an infant in his arms.

He was definitely wishing he was, if only subconsciously. In some way it was such a sweet sight that she did not want to rouse him, but if someone from the board came they would wonder what was happening. Also she had a feeling that it was not one of his more happier memories he was experiencing.

She knelt beside him and shook his shoulder. "Come Ian, we need to start working again." She placed a soft kiss on his cheek, and he smiled at her before pulling himself up from the floor.

As he followed her back to the room where they worked Ian could not help but glance at her stomach. The thought of a child was still overwhelming, but he could hardly wait until he would get to hold his own child.

It would have to be the most amazing thing he could ever imagine.

* * *

It felt strange to be alone in the room after so much time with Charlotte's company close by. He had gotten used to having her beside him, to the point where he almost turned to her to comment on something.

She had gone to her father again, for just a day or two this time. It had something to do with the fact that she was pregnant. She had said that she wanted to spare him the details, and so he guessed that it was something he would not want to know to much about. He found much of the things concerning pregnancy frightening, and so when she told him not to ask, he did not.

Now he was whishing that he could comment to her, because he had discovered something strange. He had found a goblet with a rather strange shape. The stem was thicker then normal, and hollow, spreading out to a broad bottom. It was also decorated. The cup in itself was even stranger. The bottom of it, going into the stem was conical, then instead of curved the sides was more straight. It was also heavily decorated, and it was the decoration as well as the shape that had gotten him thinking.

He took a thin paper and a charcoal stick that he was using all the time when he found an interesting pattern. Holding the paper against the goblet he began rubbing the charcoal over it. Then he spread it out to try and find what it was that was so interesting about it. It was not until he turned it upside down that he saw it, writing, there were writing there.

'_The number forth shall stand,_

_penned by one great man's hand._

_Trinity in greatest serenity,_

_Rests now for eternity.'_

It reminded him of what had been inscribed on the pipe, in fact, the whole thing reminded him of that pipe. Of the clue that had started the treasure hunt. It was scary much like it, and Ian felt suddenly drained of all strength. He was not sure of what to do. He could not ignore it, because he could not stop thinking about it. He wanted to, desperately, but he could not. His mind refused to let go of it.

No matter how hard he tried he could not stop those two lines from ringing in his head. He was up and pacing before he knew what he was doing. Trying to work out the meaning of the words. He muttered a silent but very colourful curse. It was no use, he could not stop thinking about it.

He might as well give up and try to figure it out for real. So he sat down and took the paper.

Then he shot up like if the chair had been venomous and bitten him. Logically that should not be possible, but he had shot up so fast that there had to be an explanation for it, and it was an explanation, although a strange one.

He could not figure it out, he could not. He would not do that to Charlotte. He tried to find something else to do, distracting himself from it. It was close enough to lunch time that he could go out and eat.

Charlotte had actually forbidden him to do any cooking when she was away, or rather she had not forbidden him to do any cooking, but she had forbidden him to eat anything he had cooked. So that would make cooking rather pointless.

He did not need to do it either, he was becoming a quite frequent guest at both the Chinese shop a few blocks away, and the steak house close to it. Both the places were used to seeing him at lunch time.

Never before though had it been so hard for him to go there and eat. He had walked past it with several yards before he realised it, and so he had to turn around and go back. Was it really allowed to be that distracted? He would have preferred that if it was not. He was not really fond over the fact that he walked right past the Chinese Restaurant without realising it.

Not to mention that he was so distracted he hardly knew what he had taken when he looked at his plate. He had no idea whether it was shrimp, chicken or pork. Which could have been a good idea as he was not too fond of the pork. Not to mention that he had taken sweet and sour sauce on his rice, instead of the peanut one.

It was an interesting meal, at least when he discovered that it was octopus he had on his plate. He would have to snap out of it before he got back to work.

If Charlotte got back and saw him so distracted she would lecture him most certainly. Only he did not know if he could snap out of it.

He had never been able to snap out of these things before. When something like this got his attention he could not stop thinking about them.

It was as if it cast a spell on him, he could not ignore them, not until he had solved it. So what was he to do now?

He was terrified of solving it, terrified of thinking what could come from it, and yet he could not refrain from trying to figure it out.

He was still trying to battle the need to know what it meant when he headed home.

* * *

"Something's gonna happen soon." Gregor muttered to himself. "When he has that look on his face, something's gonna happen soon."

It had never yet failed. That was how Ian was when he was determined, and curious. It was Ian when he was engaging all of his brain to figure something out. It was when Ian was dead set on something special.

Just before he knew about it himself.

They had learnt to recognize that, Ian would not always be aware of the fact that he was about to come up with something big, but the rest of them had learnt to recognize the look of it. They would prepare for when Ian came to them and told them what they were going to do.

He never understood how they could be prepared before him, Gregor was not sure if he had ever understood, but they knew about it. So now he would tell the others that things would be put into motion soon.

They would most definitely like those news.

* * *

"Did you miss me? Charlotte sneaked her arms around Ian's neck and was thrown of balance when he jumped to his feet. He spun around so fast that he nearly lost his balance completely.

"Ian?" She asked questioningly. That look on his face had been pure fright, but what had he been doing that he had not heard her approach, and to be so frightened.

"Sorry, are you okay?" He asked while still trying to get his heart beat and breathing under control.

"Yes, but I did not mean to scare you like that." She frowned scrutinizing as she took in his appearance. She was not sure about it, but for some reason she thought that he had not been taking as good care of himself as she would have wanted.

"How did everything go?" Ian asked to distract her.

"Well." She smiled and nodded. "There are a few things that I need to check every now and again since I am pregnant, but there is nothing to worry about."

"Are you certain?" Ian asked. He knew nothing about these things

"Yes." She smiled. "There is no danger in pregnancy Ian, just a few small discomforts." She did however not intend to tell him about them in detail. Ian would probably not take them to well. "I am four months pregnant Ian, so there is five more months before the child comes."

Ian nodded, he knew that it took nine months before there was a child. He did however not know much more. He supposed that she would tell him what he needed to know, since she seemed to follow the do not ask policy about it. She said that everything was fine and that there was not anything he really needed to know about.

Charlotte embraced him again. "Ian, are you done with distracting me now, so that you can tell me what has made you so edgy."

Knowing that he would not be able to get away from it Ian put the goblet down in front of her.

Charlotte picked it up and turned it over in her hands.

"Ian, I need you to tell me more about it." She said softly.

"Look at the decoration." Ian said tiredly. "What does it look like?"

"Nothing in particularly." She really could not see anything special with it.

"I made an imprint of it." He said and gave her a wrinkled and slightly torn sheet of paper. He had obviously been using it a lot. She studied it, it was a verse on four lines written there. A rhyme that seemed like something you should guess the answer to.

"What is it about?" She asked.

"I do not know." Ian dipped his face in his hands. "But I can not stop thinking about it. It is so much like that first clue on the treasure hunt. And what if it is something else like it. And I am too afraid to figure it out, but I can not stop thinking about it."

Charlotte draped her arms around him. "Ian, do you want to figure it out." She had heard a lot about the treasure hunt. She had heard even more about how Ian became obsessed with solving the riddles. How he could not let go.

"I do not dare to." He mumbled. "It all became such a mess the last time." He shook his head with despair. "Everything became so wrong, and I lost Shaw, and I do not dare to do anything now. What if I make a mess out of it again?"

"Ian, you should do it if you want to." She kissed his neck, but he was so distraught that he barely noticed.

"I can not." He made a mewing noise of despair. "And I can not stop thinking about it either. But even if I tried to figure it out, even if I did figure it out, what would I do with it. There is no one left now."

"What do you mean Ian?" Charlotte asked worriedly. She did not like the way his breathing had become agitated.

"I messed up everything." He moaned. "I got Shaw killed, I lost them Shaw, and I lost them, there is no one left for me now. Even if it is a clue, even if I can figure it out, what would I do without them."

Charlotte stroked his cheek gently. "Ian, my love, you have not lost them. You have not." She spoke softly to him, a low voice in his ear. "If it is a clue, you can figure it out, and they would want to be here when you do it. They would Ian, you have to keep that faith in them."

Ian shook his head, so upset he did not even notice that she should not know about his men. "I lost them everything." He claimed. "They can not ever wish to see me again." He shrieked with pain, whatever was it that she did that was so painful. This was the second time and he still had no idea.

He stared at her, and she thought that he looked like the last one in a large litter of puppies. When all his litter mates have been picked out by loving new owners, and one was left, the one no one wanted, and is now wondering if he will ever be loved.

She made sure to keep her tone soft. "Ian, they do not think that way about you. No one blames you for anything. But they have missed you, they have missed you all this time."

He hung his head again. "How could they. It was my fault that Shaw got killed, how could they not hate me for it?"

"If they did." This was the moment then Charlotte decided. This was when she had to tell him that they had kept watch over him. "They would not still be looking out for you."

He nodded. "They will not want to ever see me again, ever."

"No, you are wrong." She took his chin in one hand and lifted it. "They want you back, they want to be with you, but they thought that you needed time first. Victor is outside. Ask him. Ask him if he does not want you to figure it out."

Ian could not have looked more surprised if she had told him that no one blamed him for the theft of the declaration anymore.

"What?" He sounded like the little puppy he had looked like moments before.

"Victor is outside Ian, go and talk to him." She pulled him to his feet and lead him towards the door. When they were in sight of the front door Ian refused to move any further.

"I can't do this." He pleaded. "I can't. What if he is there?"

"He is there, and you are going to go and talk to him." She told him. "I mean it Ian, do it." She more or less pushed him out of the door, and there was Victor, Ian had not seen him yet, but she did and motioned to Ian. Then she disappeared inside again. Ian had to do this on his own.

He stood there on the sidewalk, looking up and down, a touch of panic over his features.

Victor came up to him and he looked frightened. Victor found it hard to comprehend, that Ian, the strong Ian, could look so frightened over seeing him.

"You okay, Ian?" He asked concerned, reaching out his hand and taking Ian's arm gently. It looked as if he needed to sit down, and so he lead him to a bench.

Ian made an effort to gather his thoughts, his best ability had always been to adept to new situations. He had done too much of panicking because he failed to adept lately. It was time to stop that. If Victor was there, he was there, now he had to show that he could take in the change of event.

"I thought that you would prefer not to see me again after I lost Shaw." He said it calmly, but he could not look at Victor when he said it.

"You didn't lose Shaw." Victor said gently. "Was no way you could have known, we all knew the risk, we all thought it worth it." He placed his arm around Ian's back. "I miss him, we all do, but it was not your fault. And we've missed you as much as we miss him. You ready to come back to us now?"

Ian looked at him carefully, Victor did not hate him, there was none of the hate he had feared in his eyes. It was the same loyal expression that had always been there. If they wanted him, if they still felt loyal to him, then how could he not?

How had he been able to imagine that he could manage without them. He could not, he needed them.

He nodded, and if he had still doubted it, then he did not after he saw Victor's grin.

"That's the best thing in ages, you and Charlotte just come with me and I'll take you to the others."

Now when he had Victor again Ian's brain kicked in. "You know Charlotte?" He asked. Only now did he realise that she had known Victor was outside, and would therefore have to know Victor.

Victor looked guilty of all charges. "We ran into her." He admitted. "We wanted to keep an eye on you, and since she was with you…" He broke of and shrugged.

It was overwhelming and Ian shook his head. "You have, do not tell me that you…" It was to crazy for him to voice it, they could not have been crazy enough to actually keep watch over him, and yet, that guilty grin could only mean one thing.

"Why?" He asked.

"We stick together Ian, always." Victor gave him a warm smile. "Remember how you taught us that. We don't run out on one of our own."

It made sense in a way, he had taught them that. He and Shaw had.

Victor leaned back for a moment. "We all knew that there would one time sooner or later when not even you could keep us from getting busted." He said slowly. "It was now, and losing Shaw's the worst ever happened to us, but it was not your fault. And you were the one who made sure we did not wind up in prison. Do you really think that we would leave you?"

Slowly Ian shook his head.

"So you just told yourself that we wouldn't want you around, just because you wanted to blame yourself, and you knew we'd never let you." Victor stated.

This time it was Ian who offered a guilty smile. He had not thought about it in those terms before, but it was true. It really was.

"Selfish bastard." Victor chuckled. "You had better stop now, for we won't let you." He grinned confidently. "Now tell me what is going on, what is it you are trying to figure out."

Ian gave him a baffled look.

"You've been looking like you always do when working on something big." Victor informed him. "We can tell, so what is it, what is it you are trying to decide if you should go for or not."

Ian stood up. "Come, I had better show it to you." It was a strange feeling to have Victor walking beside him again. Victor did not seem to notice, but he did. Then again it appeared as if Victor and the others had stayed together the whole time.

To Ian it felt as if Charlotte was not his only protection against the world anymore, there were his friends as well.

Inside he showed Victor the goblet and text imprint, explaining as much as he had been able to figure out about it.

"You'll figure it out." Victor nodded eagerly.

"You don't understand Victor." Ian sighed tiredly. "Regardless if it was my fault or not, how can I allow myself to try and figure this out, after what happened."

Victor stepped closer and laid his hands on Ian's shoulders. "How can you not?" He asked thoughtfully. "How can you not try to solve it after what happened? What would Shaw say if you gave up after all of it."

If not for the hold on his shoulders Ian would have taken a step back.

"That would be the worst thing you could ever do to Shaw." Victor continued. "Giving up, so don't you dare to. Do not give up Ian, that would be letting Gates win."

"Maybe I should leave this to him." Ian mumbled. Coping with these swift changes was all that he could do. "Ben figured it out the last time."

"You're lucky I don't hit friends." Victor said with a frown. "Well, I do. But you're lucky that I only hit my friends for fun, else I would have punched you for that one."

"Victor, I can not just forget about all in five minutes, act like if this last time never happened." Ian pulled away from him. "You told me I am still wanted, fine, I can believe that. But to think that I would be able to do everything right this time, when I did everything wrong before. This is your bloody lives we are talking about."

"Yeah, it is." Victor countered. "And we want to goon. We'd rather take the risk then giving up. We go on Ian."

Ian looked at him, bewildered. It was odd, how Victor still seemed to have such trust in him.

"Come on now." Victor grinned. "It is about time we tell the others about it."

"I need to finish here first." It was clear to Ian that the choice was not his. He might as well give in and do as Victor said. "I'll meet you later. For some reason I think that you know the address." He gave Victor a calculating look, ah, he did know where Ian lived. He could read his expression easily, and he most definitely knew where Ian lived. He had not really expected anything else either. Not after Victor admitted that they had been keeping an eye on him.

"I'll bring them." Victor promised. "I'll see you there." He left with a gentle pat to Ian's shoulder, and a wave to Charlotte. Then grinning like a fool he left.

Well, Ian thought, Victor had always been a happy fool.

He sank down on the chair trying to take in the news. There was a lot to take in, even if he was beginning to feel more like before. Even if he was beginning to feel more like his old self.

"How did you know?" He did not look at Charlotte as he asked the question.

"I ran into them." She admitted. "They had seen me with you and were curious." She knelt to hug him, he looked really drained.

"They still want to go on." Ian shook his head as if he still did not dare to believe it. "I thought that I could go on and not really miss them, but I can not. I have missed them so much. I have to be the biggest fool to think that I could get along without them."

"No, Ian. Not a fool." She kissed his neck, enjoying the feeling of his soft hair. "Rest for a moment now, I think you need it."

He looked at her, trying to see if she was crazy, rest, how could he possibly rest after she did that. There was shivers of electricity running up and down his spine, he felt as if he had been the top target in a lightning storm, and then she told him to rest.

He had heard that pregnancy made strange things to some women, and now he believed it.

* * *

Important note for this chapter is that Ian at times refers to the unborn child as girl, and sometimes as boy, it is something he does because he does not want to guess about what it will be, and so he takes both options into account.

This is the end of this chapter, I shall update again in two weeks, and keep the updates up every second week.

I want to thank everyone who read my earlier National Treasure story, thank you, all of you.

I have now switched to the direct review response for all signed reviews.


	12. I Guess That You Could Be An Aunt,

Author's note: This is based on the movie National Treasure, and is to a great deal dedicated to the more than worthy performance of Sean Bean. I enjoyed the movie very much, but I thought that since Ben and Ian often used similar methods to reach the same goal, I did not see one of them as more evil than the other. I also thought that the hints of the friendship we saw between them should be explored more. I began doing that in 'Who Did You Say Stole the Declaration,' this story takes up a short time after that one ended, and is my version of what happened next. I hope you all shall like it.

Big thanks to LadyDeb1970 who have been going over this for me, and helped me with plot and story ideas. Also to Celebrion for being my beta.

Disclaimer: I do not own National Treasure. I just borrowed it because I like Sean Bean as an actor. I will return all characters in good and whole order, completely undamaged, if covered with a slight glue residue from having been put together again. I also swear I will not make any serious attempt at stealing Ian. More than I already have that is…

The name of Thomas McDowell have been stolen from LadyDeb1970, with her kind permission, as well as one or two other details.

/Elenhin

* * *

Chapter 12 I Guess You Could Be An Aunt,

When he and Charlotte got to the building Ian was actually feeling slightly nervous. He had no idea of what to expect from his men, but then he saw them. They were all smiles and grins. It was in fact a long time since he had seen any of them look so happy. So he guessed that it could not really be all bad.

It could not, not with the way they were laughing and crying out to him. Like in old times, very much like old times. It was a great feeling. To be taken in into the circle they formed, they immediately encircled him and Charlotte, and it was so good to be feeling wanted again.

"Ian have something else to tell you." Charlotte smiled. "Something more than what you know about." She made a gesture to her stomach to make sure that he knew what he was supposed to tell them. From the way his face lit up she knew he had gotten the hint, who said that men could not take a hint? "I did not say anything before, because I wanted to let him tell you." She explained to the others.

"What?" Phil demanded with a grin.

"You're about to become uncles I guess." Ian said shyly. He had never thought he would say that to anyone, and he had no idea of how to do it.

"Uncles?" Gregor burst out, blinking confused at Ian.

"If you really want to, I guess you could be an aunt." Ian assured him with a smile. Bantering with these guys was the most natural thing he had ever done.

"Are you saying that you have a brat on the way?" Victor demanded, pointing an accusing finger at Ian who raised his hands in a gesture of self defence.

"No one calls my child a brat." Charlotte claimed threatingly. She mock scowled at Victor who laughingly took a step back.

"She says so." Ian grinned and gestured to Charlotte.

"And here we were worried about you." Phil laughed. "Then we hear that you have kid coming, not bad."

"It was not planned." Ian shrugged embarrassed. "But I would not change it for the world."

"You had better not. It was about time." Gregor nodded. "We are going to have a child. Do you understand what that means, we are all gonna have a child." Charlotte had to laugh at his excitement.

"Then I assume you are willing to help with changing diapers." She teased him.

"Anytime." He beamed.

"When is it coming?" Phil asked.

"In about five months." Charlotte smiled.

"That's ages." Victor complained. "Why not sooner?"

Ian burst out laughing, they were as eager as school boys. If Charlotte had said that it was coming in the morning, then Victor would have demanded to know why it was taking so long. If it had been within a few minutes, they still would have claimed that it was too long.

"It takes nine months." Charlotte informed him. "Who taught you about the birds and the bees anyway?"

Victor gave the most innocent grin he could and pointed at Ian.

"I should have known." Charlotte sighed.

"If you think that it is bad now, you should have seen them before I did it." Ian said.

"I don't want to know." Charlotte shuddered. "Didn't any of your mothers teach you anything?"

All of them looked at one another with embarrassed expressions.

"No one of us really learnt a lot from our parents." Phil finally said. "Not about anything. I sort of did not get along too well with mine you see."

"They never wanted to tell me those things." Victor shrugged.

"Same here." Gregor nodded. "Not that I was ever interested.

"I learnt it all afterwards, what little I learnt." Ian admitted. "I think you're the only one of us who has any kind of family relation." He gave her a small smile. "We, we were the misfits of society, and it kinda shows."

"Will be different for the brat though." Victor beamed, and Charlotte could not bring herself to lecture him on the use of the description brat for the child. "He will have an awfully big family."

Gregor snapped his fingers. "Do you know if it is a boy or a girl?" He asked, peering closely at her stomach.

Charlotte was beginning to suspect that from now on they would be looking at her stomach a lot when they spoke to her. Not that she minded all that much. She had suspected it when she suffered the morning sicknesses, and she was so happy about it. They could stare at her stomach as much as they wanted.

"It is early too tell." She told him. "And I do not want to find out until the child is due anyway."

"What are you hoping for?" Phil asked.

"A boy, a little Ian." Charlotte said as she reached up on tip toe to kiss Ian's cheek.

"One or the other." Ian grinned. "I do not see how one could be better than the other. Whichever it is it'll be mine."

At that moment Gregor thought that he had never ever seen Ian look more happy. He had just been allowed to tell his closet friends that he was to be a father, and to Ian life could not be better. It was the one thing that all had known Ian had always wanted, but he had never gotten himself a girl. He could have, easily, but he had kept to them, and now finally he would be a father.

They could not be happier for him.

They set down and Ian explained everything to them, something that took a lot of time, because Ian also had to explain a lot of other things for them. Pretty much everything of what had been going on.

There was much teasing too, especially since a very sad looking balloon, now shrunken to a smaller size was still tied to the stand lamp.

Ian looked at them baffled as he realized just how close an eye they had been keeping on him. It was insane and crazy, it was also his men, so maybe it was obvious. If felt surprisingly good to know that they had thought him worth that. It was one of the things that made it easy to slip back into the old routine.

"So, we figure all of that out." Phil stated. "And then we concentrate on the kid."

"I am trying to figure it out." Ian told them. "But it is not easy."

"You'll figure it out." Gregor said confidently. "If anyone can it'll be you."

Ian smiled in gratitude for the trust they held in his abilities. He studied the paper before him, doodling and scribbling down random thoughts on a note pad.

Then he dropped the pen on the table. "I think that we must look at this from another point of view." He told the others. "Not what it means, but what it is about."

"What do you mean with that?" Victor sat down beside him on the couch.

"What is it about, what was the reason to put this down on a goblet." Ian said thoughtfully. "It is not a mere decoration, a decoration would not be hidden, so it is something that not everyone is supposed to know about. But what is it about?" He took a deep breath. "The fact that the inscription shows in the same way as on the pipe makes me think of that treasure. But why would there be a clue to finding the treasure, in the treasure."

"Could it be that it was about another treasure, and someone found it and made it a part of that treasure." Victor suggested. "They gathered the stuff from all over the world, did they not?"

"They did." Ian agreed. "The Knights Templar gathered more treasures than any man could imagine. They were indeed all over the world, and they also believed that it was too rich a treasure for one man to hold control over." Ian suddenly quieted. He looked over to where Gregor and Phil stood by the book case.

"I need to check some information about the Knights Templar. Will you please pass me the book?" He asked them.

Phil looked through the book case. "This one?" He held up a book that he thought was unhealthily thick. It said something about the Knights Templar on the cover at least.

"No." Ian shook his head. "The Donald Duck collection, the one furthest to the left." Gregor pulled out the requested book and passed it on to Victor who gave it to Ian.

"There won't be anything about it in that one?" Victor frowned.

"Actually there is." Ian smiled. "There is a tale in this about Uncle Scrooge searching for the Templar Treasure, and the facts given are quite correct, as well as easier to find." He opened it to the beginning of one tale. Here it is, 'A letter from home' It is a very good tale." He said with a smile. Grinning at Victor's expression. He was wearing a quite amusing look.

Then Victor shook his head with a grin. "So what was it you needed in that book?" He asked.

"Here." Ian pointed to the beginning of the tale, where the ducks were sitting in a room in a castle and Uncle Scrooge was standing beside a fire place. "It says here in rough coarse numbers what the size of the treasure was. It is much more than was found beneath the church."

"So that was not the whole treasure?" Victor asked as he was trying to understand what was going on.

"I am not even sure if it was the same treasure." Ian stated as he skimmed over the pages in the comic album. "Ben found the treasure of the Freemasons, but I do not think that that treasure had anything to do with the treasure of the Knights Templar, more than this." He held up the paper he had made the imprint on.

"You think that that, is a clue for finding the other treasure?" Victor asked frowning at the paper.

Ian nodded. "My great aunt told me a legend about a treasure when I was young. I am thinking that there might be a truth in it now. Though I would have to figure out the clue to be certain if it is that one, or if it really is true."

"It wouldn't be any fun to just walk up to the treasure." Phil stated from where he stood. "What fun would a treasure hunt be if there was no hunt."

"We'll figure out the clues then." Ian stated. "And while we do it we should be able to tell whatever my guess on where the treasure is hidden is right or not. Anyway I am guessing that we might need some part of the clues to get to it."

"That makes sense." Gregor nodded.

"Which means I still need to figure out this one." Ian grinned, he loved a good challenge.

It was however a very tricky one. It took him a few days to even figure out the first part of it. When he started thinking about how it reminded him of the Declaration of Independence and that clue. That was when he realised about the number who had penned it. In an odd way it made sense. The part about Trinity could hint at the Trinity church, and rests for eternity, that would mean something about their deaths.

That was when he figured out that the date of their deaths gave him the number combination for a book code, like the one Ben had found on the back of the Declaration. The one that had been in the Silence Dogood letters. Only this one was not for the Silence Dogood letters, this one had its key in the Declaration of Independence.

He had not expected that.

Yet it was not really surprising either.

* * *

Ian sat in the living room with his note pad in his hand, looking at it but not really seeing any of the words written on it.

Figuring out had been difficult. It had taken so much time that Charlotte was now close to five months pregnant, and here he sat with the result before him.

It had been many hours sweating before he came up with the answer to the clue, it had been many hours when he could not sleep because he was trying to solve the riddle, and Charlotte would threaten him if he did not come to bed.

As she would soon be doing now with out a doubt, because it was getting late. He read through the words one more time.

_Sae rantingly, sae wantonly,_

_Sae dauntingly gaed he,_

_He played a spring and danced a round,_

_Beneath the gallows tree._

The weeping Willow weeps for thee.

It was like Patrick Gates had said, just another clue. Aye, it was another clue, but this time it was something that Ian thought he could solve as easily as Ben had solved every clue he had encountered.

Ben had had his knowledge of history, and Ian had not known enough of that same history, now however he did know. The problem now was what he was going to do.

"Ian, you should go to bed." Charlotte said from the doorway to the bedchamber.

Well, it was one answer, but it was not something that would solve his problems, Ian smiled to himself.

"You need sleep more than I." He said, looking at her stomach where a child he had helped to create was growing. "I'm fine." To just think of the tiny girl in there, to imagine just how tiny it was, and still a perfectly shaped boy. It was so amazing. Perhaps he should be going to bed just so that he could cradle his child close through her mother.

"No, you need it as much as I do." Charlotte stated. "You are doing a lot better Ian, a lot. But you are not as well as you think either. You are still too thin and you still do not sleep enough."

Ian made a face, she still did not think him capable of caring for himself. Granted, she had a few good examples to go by where he had not been the best at taking care of himself. Still though, he was not tired, and his brain was working, and he was not sure that he could sleep.

He had not known at all what to expect from Charlotte's pregnancy, but it was sadly true that he did not know anything at all about those things. Yet one thing that he had noted was that Charlotte was generally acting like a mother, to all of them.

Not one of them had been spared to hear that they should eat more, and make sure that they slept enough. As well as be careful when they went outside. He was just waiting to hear that they should remember to look both ways before crossing the street.

He would not be surprised if he heard that when he went out.

"I am trying to decide what I am to do now." He told her. If he did not give her any kind of explanation he would be dragged to bed by the scruff of his neck. Considering how much he was still teased about the time Shaw had forcedly put him to bed, he did not want to risk them getting whiff of that.

"You are trying to figure out the next clue?" She asked.

He shook his head. "We can not do that from here. No, I am trying to figure out how to go about it. I can not continue what I am doing at the museum and still work out the treasure hunt.

"So you need to tell them that you quit." Charlotte stated. "Do you still not feel that you can do it because of Ben?"

Ian nodded, Charlotte was still able to tell what he was feeling.

She walked over to him and sneaked her arms around him. "That, in the morning. Now, come to bed. Really Ian. You need to sleep."

He nodded and gave in. There were nice things about going to bed. Snuggling down next to Charlotte was the best thing he could imagine. Especially since he loved to stroke his hands over her belly now. It was hardly any bigger at all, but it felt as if he could feel the child in there, and feel how it would be to later hold his daughter.

"Sleep now, Ian." She made his name into a loving whisper, and kissed him on the cheek.

"No time for that." Ian stifled a yawn and continued to caress her belly. "I want to spend more time with my child here."

Charlotte laughed softly. "You know Ian, that when the child is born, it will be wanting to be fed every second hour. Do you have any idea of how many times you will have to wake up in the middle of the night, for feeding and changing diapers. Sleep while you have the chance to sleep."

"I can't wait." Ian grinned sheepishly, if it meant that he was allowed to hold his son, then why would he care about not being allowed to sleep. Why would he even want to sleep when he had his daughter near.

Charlotte laughed and pushed his head down onto the pillow. Keeping her hand in his hair to make sure that he did not try to sit up again, it also meant that she could twirl his hair around her fingers.

If he ever cut his hair short she would hit him, very hard.

She tried to make sure that he fell asleep, but the rhythm of his hand on her stomach made her feel so drowsy that she fell asleep first.

When Ian woke up he noticed immediately that Charlotte was already up. He turned over, and she was not there, he hated to wake up that way, but he was getting used to it. Lately she had begun to get up before he did, he wondered if that was another pregnancy thing.

If it was it was best not to ask about it, he had some self preservation left.

Charlotte was in the kitchen, making a lot of breakfast. There was not really room in the apartment for all of them to stay there, seeing how it was just the living room, the bed room and another really tiny room. The rest of them shared a slightly bigger apartment, but all of them really thought that moving about was too much of a bother at the moment. When the child was born, and they had gotten as far as they could with the clues, then they would all get a better place to live. It was not just important at the moment.

The others dropped in as soon as they were awake anyway, and only left to sleep. Today Charlotte remained behind, she had taken to doing that more now that he had the others for company. At the moment she was lecturing Victor on how he had better make sure that they did not forget about lunch, either of them, and that they should be careful.

Victor just grinned, he was getting used to it. "Yes mom." He chuckled with a easing grin.

Charlotte gave a start at the tease, then she grinned. "And wash behind your ears before you go out." She mock scolded him. Taking up on the joke. "And you had better not get yourself dirty."

Both Ian and Victor laughed as they left, though Ian was still deep in thought.

"We'll wait until the brat is out and okay." Victor stated absently. "There is no hurry, so we do not need to do anything until then."

"What should I do with Ben?" Ian asked him straight forward. "I really don't imagine that you are overly fond of him."

"Not after what he did to you, no." Victor shook his head. "We rather dislike him after that."

Ian looked away to the side, embarrassed. "I was being stupid Victor. More stupid than I would like to admit."

"Yeah, and he was being an asshole about it all." Victor snorted. "Do you really still want him as a friend?" He reached out a hand and stopped Ian, making him look him in the eye.

Ian gave a small nod.

"Because he is almost as smart as you, and you want 'anyone' who you can talk intellectual stuff with, or because you really liked him before." Victor still held on to Ian's arm, not allowing him to continue walking and thereby avoiding eye contact.

"Victor, I am not that intelligent." He said with a smile. "And I have never felt that I need anyone else than you guys in that manner. I just, well the first time I really got along well with Ben, and I felt that I wanted to see if it could be saved."

"I can understand that." Victor nodded. He had seen already before that Ian liked something about Ben. They had all seen it before. "But he will have some convincing to do before we believe him worthy of you."

Ian gave him a strange look, and Victor shrugged and ignored it.

"Do you want him along on the hunt?" Victor asked then as they began walking again.

"I am not sure, I think that I have to tell him, and I think that he would insist." Ian fidgeted as he was not sure how Victor would take that. How he hated to still feel so distant from them at times.

"We wont mind all that much." Victor assured him. "But promise me one thing." He sounded very serious. "Don't back down for him this time."

"What do you mean?" Ian opened the door to the museum as he asked the question.

"You do that all the time." Victor shrugged casually but he sounded very serious as he walked in behind Ian. "You tell yourself that someone is smarter than you, and so you back down and let them call all the shots. If we go after this treasure, you are in charge, and you had better stay in charge." Victor sounded as if he was threatening and teasing at the same time.

Ian looked at him bewildered, he had not been aware that he was doing that. Sure, he had allowed Ben to figure everything out, but that was because Ben was so much smarter than he was. Ben had been the only one who could solve the puzzles. Ben had said so, and he had believed it.

Victor took a seat and started toying with a small statue that was standing on the table. It was made of solid gold, so there was no danger of it taking any damage.

"And you were not just as good at figuring all those things?" Victor asked as he continued to fiddle with the statue. "You figured out all of those bloody things. You even figured it out when we did not have all of the clues. You are smarter than him Ian, and this time you show it."

That was the thing with Victor and the others he decided. He did not have to be best, he could admit that he was uncertain about things to them. Even if he was the leader, even if he was the one who tried to make sure that they were all alright, he did not have to be so confident all the time. He was allowed to be uncertain.

"If we take Ben along, you have my word." Ian smiled. "Actually, if I am to use my immense brain capacity, it is a good idea to have him along."

"How come?" Victor frowned and put down the statue on the table.

"If we found a treasure, what would everyone be thinking." He pointed out.

"That we stole it?" Victor thought out loud. "What's the world coming to when no one will trust you."

Ian chuckled amusedly at him, that was Victor, it was most definitely Victor to say such a thing.

"For some reason I can understand them. But the point is that Ben for the moment is credible enough that no one will believe that he have stolen anything. He could walk off with the Statue of Liberty, and everyone would believe that he had been granted permission to borrow it." Ian grinned as he had a mental image of Ben trying to uproot the Statue of Liberty.

"So if we had him along, then no one would think that we were doing something illegal." Victor grinned amused.

"Precisely. If we have him along, we will be a serious and credible expedition, if not we will most likely be referred to as a bunch of criminals on the run." Ian stated.

Victor took up the statue again to fiddle with it. "I kinda like that image." He noted with a grin and a nod. "Was bloody hard to get it."

Ian found himself laughing, it was most unlikely that Victor would ever change, but if he did Ian would make Charlotte teach him that thing she did, the one that hurt much more than it should be possible, and the one he could never see quite what it was that she did.

* * *

This is the end of this chapter, I shall update again in two weeks, and keep the updates up every second week.

I want to thank everyone who read my earlier National Treasure story, thank you, all of you.

I have now switched to the direct review response for all signed reviews.


	13. Against The Front Of It This Time

Author's note: This is based on the movie National Treasure, and is to a great deal dedicated to the more than worthy performance of Sean Bean. I enjoyed the movie very much, but I thought that since Ben and Ian often used similar methods to reach the same goal, I did not see one of them as more evil than the other. I also thought that the hints of the friendship we saw between them should be explored more. I began doing that in 'Who Did You Say Stole the Declaration,' this story takes up a short time after that one ended, and is my version of what happened next. I hope you all shall like it.

Big thanks to LadyDeb1970 who have been going over this for me, and helped me with plot and story ideas. Also to Celebrion for being my beta.

Disclaimer: I do not own National Treasure. I just borrowed it because I like Sean Bean as an actor. I will return all characters in good and whole order, completely undamaged, if covered with a slight glue residue from having been put together again. I also swear I will not make any serious attempt at stealing Ian. More than I already have that is…

The name of Thomas McDowell have been stolen from LadyDeb1970, with her kind permission, as well as one or two other details.

/Elenhin

* * *

Chapter 13 **_Against The Front Of It This Time_**

It was interesting to see how much certain things affected you. Before when Ben had been there he had been feeling as if he was still indebted to Ben, like if he was obliged to look up at him. Now, he felt as if they were back to equal.

Like when they had started out on the first treasure hunt. He had decided that he should meet with them alone first. Ben, Abigail and Riley, only the four of them, and sort everything out. He had brought the imprint from the goblet, and he was prepared for a lengthy explanation.

It was Ben who had claimed that they should meet at a restaurant, and Ian had not objected, he was back in his old shape, and he actually felt that his wit was sharp enough for this. He saw them coming on the sidewalk and grinned.

"Hello Ben." He grinned. "Abigail, good to see you, you as well Riley." He gave the younger man a reassuring look. It would not do to have Riley run from the scene in terror.

"Hello Ian." Ben nodded, and he had a thoughtful expression on his face. "What's up."

"A lot." Ian raised his eyebrows and smiled as he took extra care to formulate the word. "I think that you will be quite surprised as well Ben." He made a gesture towards the entrance of the restaurant with his hand. "Shall we?"

Abigail noted how different he looked now. Ian was not a fancy dresser, what he wore was on the verge of what the restaurant normally frowned upon even if they allowed it. Yet Ian carried himself in such a way that no one thought to frown upon him. Ben passed without a second look, and Riley got a slight frown or two.

She supposed that she was glad to see Ian more happy and more like his old self. Displaying the confidence she had seen in him before. At those times she could almost forget that he was a criminal by career choice, and then she could also like him for the man he was.

"So." Ben said as they were waiting for their orders to come. "What was the big news?" He spoke casually.

Ian hid a small smile as he noted that Ben sounded more casual than he looked. Ben was still no better at bluffing than he had been before.

"There are several actually." Ian smiled. "One is that Charlotte shall have a child in about four months from now."

"That's wonderful." Abigail burst out. "You are going to have a child."

Ian nodded shyly.

"Congratulations, Ian." Ben said genuinely happy for him.

"Yeah, that's great." Riley chimed in.

"I think that the credit goes to Charlotte." Ian grinned. "It was not something that we had planned, but it is quite amazing."

"Definitely." Ben grinned. "I'm trying to picture you as a father."

Ian gave him a questingly look as he smiled wryly at him. Teasing him to make it having sound like something difficult to picture.

"You'll be a great father Ian." Abigail said soothingly. She could even believe it. From what she had seen Ian had always treated children well, and he did take responsibility seriously.

"I hope so." He nodded and now he was serious. "No matter how wonderful it is, I keep thinking that maybe I will not be good enough."

Their food arrived and when they all tried the first bite of their choices was when Ian spoke again. Making sure no one had a bite in their mouth to choke on.

"Ben, I hope that you won't mind, but I do not intend to remain at the museum anymore."

Riley's mouth fell open and he stared, Ben and Abigail just looked at him confused.

"Because of the child?" Ben asked.

"Because of the child, and because of something I found by sheer coincidence." Ian said as he took out the paper, he handed it to Ben, the side with the charcoal on facing up. "What do you make of this Ben?" He asked.

"It looks like a decorative pattern." Ben shrugged.

"Turn it over." Ian could not really help smiling smugly. He could have kept a straight face, but he really did not think it worth it.

Ben turned it over and gave a start, looking up at Ian and, Ian nodded before he could ask.

Ben looked at Abigail, Riley and then Abigail again. "The number forth shall stand." He read out loud for their benefit. "Penned by one great man's hand. Trinity in greatest serenity. Rests now for eternity." He dropped the paper to the table and looked at Ian, baffled.

"What is this?" He asked.

"Another clue." Ian chuckled. "Your father was right Ben, there was another clue, it just was not a lantern, and it does not lead to Boston, but it is indeed another clue."

"It can not be." Ben shook his head as if he tried to deny it. "It just can't be Ian."

"It is." Ian nodded, in confirmation. "It is another clue. I have solved it as well."

"No." Ben was still shaking his head. "It is just an odd poem Ian, it is no clue. I found the treasure, there can not be any other clue."

Ian noted how he said that he had found the treasure, but he did not really care about it. "You found one treasure Ben, one treasure. But how many treasures have been hidden during the coarse of history? I am certain that it has been more than one." He pointed out. "Just take the treasure island, that was not the treasure that was hidden beneath the church."

"Have you found the treasure island?" Riley asked baffled. "I thought that was just a children's book."

"It is." Ian agreed. "But the point is that there have been many treasures. You found one, I have found the clue for another."

"Are you sure?" Abigail asked. It sounded unbelievable, but so it had sounded when she had first heard about a treasure map on the back of the declaration as well.

"I might be a big fool at times, but not so big one that I make such a claim without being certain." Ian pulled a few larger sheets of paper from his pocket. His food almost forgotten on his plate. "I can also prove that I am right." He reached over and tapped a finger on the paper in front of Ben. "The number forth shall stand, penned by one great man's hand. What was penned by one great man, Ben?" He asked with a smile.

"Many things have been penned by one great man." Ben said evasively. "Shakespeare was a great man."

"So was the one who penned the Declaration." Ian grinned confidently.

"What about the number?" Abigail asked. She could not deny that the declaration had indeed been penned by a great man. Ian did have a point there. "The number forth shall stand?"

"There is an awful lot of names at the bottom of it." Ian unfolded one of the papers he had taken out of his pocket. It was not a full size, instead it was the size of a paper from an ordinary printer. It was however a copy of the Declaration. "Trinity in greatest serenity, rests now in eternity." He continued. "As far as I know they all rest in eternity now, and we both know what the Trinity Church has to do with it."

"What is the clue then?" Ben looked at the paper, but he was to confused to be able to figure out any of it. He had no idea of what it meant.

"Here." Ian spread another paper out over the first. There was a long row of names, and dates, noted in year, month and day. Then there was also another row where the dates had been broken up. "This is the dates of death on all of them."

"It is the same code that was on the back of the Declaration." Riley gave a soft whistle.

"And you matched it against the Silence Dogood letters?" Ben asked. It sounded unbelievable.

"No Ben." Ian shook his head and pushed the two papers closer to Ben. "I matched it against the Declaration of Independence. Against the front of it this time." He smiled teasingly.

Ben scrutinized it for a long time while the others looked at him captivated. Then Ben looked up with a shake of his head. "It does not make any sense Ian." He said, and he was not sure whatever he was happy or not about it.

"It does." Ian said firmly. "If you note that you have one more combination. It is hidden in the clue, in each line there is a number. The combination makes a letter, and if you use that letter, you shall see that it makes sense, perfect sense actually."

Ben added the last letter and looked at Ian with pure surprise. "It makes a new rhyme." He mumbled.

"What?" Riley demanded. "What is it Ben?"

"Read it." Abigail commanded.

Ben cleared his throat and began to read it. "Sae rantingly, sae wantonly, sae dauntingly gaed he, He played a spring, and danced a round, Beneath the gallows tree. The weeping Willow weeps for thee." He looked at Ian thoughtfully. "I can not understand what it means though. It will be long before we can figure it out."

"Not long, it was easy." Ian gave Ben a confident smile. "You know your history Ben, I know mine. This has to do with my history."

"What does it mean then?" Ben asked frowning between the paper and Ian. Abigail too was looking at Ian, and Riley looking up between swallows of food.

"The first part is from a very old song." Ian explained. "Danced a round beneath the gallows tree, meant that he was hanged. The second part tells where it is. The weeping Willow weeps for thee. So to find the next clue, we must go to the weeping Willow."

"And where is that?" Ben frowned at Ian this time.

"Washington DC." Ian grinned. "I know where it is Ben. But, I have no intention of going anywhere at all before the child is born. I think that we need to prepare anyway, and I will not risk anything with Charlotte before the child is born. I did however think that you should know already now."

Ben pondered it for a moment, here was a chance for him to find one more treasure, he had not dared to hope that there could be one more treasure. Yet if there was one more treasure, then he desperately wanted to find it.

He nodded thoughtfully. "You are certain about this Ian?" He asked.

Ian nodded. "The last treasure hunt went wrong Ben, so very wrong. I am still sorry for it, every day when I think about it."

Abigail thought how she could see that Ian indeed had to feel guilty, she could see it in his eyes, as well as detect faint traces of it in his voice.

Ian moistened his lips before going on. "Before you ask me why I am telling you this, Riley, instead of going off on my own. You gave me another chance at friendship Ben, I want to give us another chance of doing this together."

He looked and sounded sincere enough Abigail thought, and after how he had suffered at the museum at first, she would not have blamed him if he had not told them. Well, she might have in retrospect, if she had found out later that he had gone after a treasure on his own, without telling them. Yet now she could admire him for telling them.

"It sounds like it is worth a try." Ben nodded. "I understand why you don't want to go anywhere before the baby is born though. Me, Abigail and Riley could go and check out that, and then you could join in later if you want."

Abigail had not thought she would hear Ben say something like that, and Ian suddenly looked more hurt. Even Riley was looking at Ben surprised. Here was Ian, putting more trust in them than Abigail had thought he ever would after those last few months, and what did Ben do?

He made it sound as if the three of them would go after it, and then maybe allow Ian to join in later, maybe. It sounded wrong, because Ian had not been obliged to tell them. It was Ben who had come up with the first clue the last time, but this time it was Ian, and if they wanted to think that they were better than Ian had been then, could they really do something like that?

She had seen Ian when Ben and Charlotte argued, and he had been a broken man. She thought that he had suffered his due for his mistakes, and yet he still claimed to owe Ben a debt. He came to them with this much trust, and what had Ben just done?

Before it had even started he had made it sound as if it was his personal treasure, and Ian was only allowed along if he behaved.

She had thought that Ian would be angry over it, but it seemed that she had underestimated him again. He ran his hand through his hair and gave Ben a hurt look.

"You do not trust me?" He asked. "You do not trust me enough to have me along?"

Abigail had an distinct impression that if Ben had said no, then Ian would have left the restaurant then and there. Leaving them to go after the treasure on their own. It made her feel like if finding the treasure meant less to Ian than finding it with them.

"I trust you Ian." Ben sounded utterly unaware of why Ian was feeling so rejected. "I just thought that it would be best to start now, and if you want to wait for the child to be born, then I just thought that we might as well get a head start."

"Ben, as long ago as it was hidden, either it was gone before we were even born, or it will still be there when we get there. We prepared for two years before we actually went after the Charlotte. I am certain that we can wait until the child is born. What I am not certain of is whether you trust me enough for this."

Abigail thought that it was strange how her respect for Ian grew, she could see that Riley too looked at him a little different. As if he was not the big bad wolf anymore.

"We will wait until you and Charlotte are ready." Abigail assured Ian. "I will not hear of anything else. It was you who came up with this lead Ian, if you want for us to be along, then we are honoured. If you do not want us along, then I understand."

"I want you along." Ian ran his hand through his hair again. A habit that allowed her to know that he was just a little agitated. "I know that you think that I threw away all decency Abigail. But I never, ever did anything with the intent of harming anyone. Never, and even if I will not apologise for it, then I am not particularly proud over it either."

"And you think that I am overbearing, because I had the opportunities and took them, and I can not understand how someone could have the same opportunities and not take them." Abigail said. "I think it is time that we make a truce between just you and me Ian. I might not approve of your choice, and you do not approve of my attitude. But we should be able to respect each other for who we are."

Ian nodded thoughtfully over her words. It made sense, and it was what he had been trying to achieve for some time now.

"I must say that I never thought someone who had ever done something criminal could also have so much honour." Abigail added with a warm smile, then she extended her hand. "Truce between you and me Ian."

Ian reached over the table and shook her hand. It was nice to know that she was able to trust him enough for that. To know that some things were not damaged beyond repair, but that they could be made to right again.

They agreed that they should wait until Charlotte had given birth to her and Ian's child, and Ian had to admit that he did not know enough about births and children to know how much longer they would have to wait. Yet in the meantime he would be trying to find as much useful information as possible. He did not tell them how he would get some of it, but it was time to study some more family history.

The weeping willow, it was the tree that had been used as a gallows at an early date. It was not the most common tree for a gallows, but it had been standing at the place where people needed it to, and it had sported a branch perfect for lying a noose over, and so it had been.

The man that had danced in the air was a man named Willow, he had been a young man fallen in love. He had been hung by the neck for the murder of his beloved and her father, only later it was discovered that it might not have been him.

There had been two more people involved, the girl in love with Willow, the one he was not in love with, and the man who loved her. Such was her love for Willow that she would not look at any other man.

Now it was a local legend of a local tragedy. Ian knew of it, because Willow had been related to the McDowell's. Willows mother had carried the name McDowell until she married. The family had been a family of tragedy after this. The parents having seen their five children disappear. Two girls moved far away, each with a husband.

One brother arguing and brawling whenever someone would not trust his brother's innocence, and the last brother leaving to search fortune, and to escape the memories of his home.

The tale of the young Willow was one he knew well. Thus it had not taken him long to see through the riddle. Had not his aunt said that it was for the injustice that had occurred beneath its branches that the willow wept.

The tree would be gone now, or as good as, but the legend would still remain.

* * *

It was strange to leave the museum, they claimed to be sad to see him go, but they were not. They had lost a work force, but they were also now safe from scorn again. As they no longer had anything to do with the legendary Mr Howe. There were no longer any danger of being forced to admit that they did indeed have the thief who stole the Declaration of Independence working for them.

So no, they were not sad to see him walk away, they were relieved.

Even if he had actually enjoyed the last part of his time there, Ian did not feel any remorse over not going back there. He could enjoy himself around the artefacts, but he could not enjoy himself with the board of the museum being so high above him, and making sure that he knew they were above him. He could not really take being brought down to such low terms, by such pompous asses as they were.

Instead he made most of his research from his computer, he was looking up on his family history. There was so much about it that he had not known about before, and so much that he had forgotten.

One had to know what to look for though, the family history he was looking for was not one easily found. It had spent too much time on not being well known. However if you knew the back roads you could find a lot.

He was doing research via various sources, some he was not really supposed to have access to, and then, one should not underestimate Google. One could get a lot of information out of search sites.

He was just able to snatch his hands away from keyboard of the laptop before Charlotte snapped down the screen.

"Dinner time." She said as she kissed him on his cheek. "You can continue doing whatever you are doing after your have eaten."

Ian looked between her and the laptop that now had the lid down. "I was just about finished." He said sheepishly.

"Whenever you have finished with one thing, you always begin on the next one." She grinned. "I thought that I should make sure that I got your attention. Come and eat now." She made sure that she gave him no choice by grabbing his wrist and pulling him along. She had determined that it was the fastest way to get him to the table. That or sending Victor after him.

Actually that had proved to be the most effective way, for he would just tip the chair up and deposit him onto the floor.

Of course then it would still take some time for both of them to get to the table, as it usually resulted in a wrestling match.

Instead Charlotte had devised her own means, such as slamming the screen of the laptop down. It usually distracted him from whatever he was doing long enough that she could get him to do whatever she wanted. Before he had realised that it was what she was doing.

It did work, Ian followed her obediently, since he could not really recall what it was he had been doing anyway. Besides, whatever it was she had been cooking smelled great.

"Where did the others take off to?" He wondered absently as she pushed the pot towards him. Maybe it was true that he had been spending a bit too much time at the computer. Since he had not really noticed when they left. On the other hand it explained why he had not been called in an even more violent manner. If Victor dumped him onto the floor one more time, he would take revenge.

"I'm not sure." Charlotte shrugged. "They said that they would be back later though."

Ian nodded, they were more than capable of taking care of themselves, even if it may not always look that way. On the other hand Charlotte still claimed that he was not really capable of taking care of himself.

He looked at her again, you could not really tell all that much that she was with child, even if she did get the most peculiar moods of humour at times. Giggling like a school girl over anything at all.

At those times, if you as much as dropped a pencil to the floor, Charlotte would be doubling over in a fit of giggling.

It was strange, but he did not really mind it, he was going to be a father.

* * *

Charlotte had gone and laid down onto the bed for a few moments in the afternoon, and Ian went in to see how she was doing.

Actually that was just an excuse for him to sit down beside her and lay his hand on her belly. He thought that he could feel something moving there, but maybe it was just him trying to convince himself that he did it. He was not sure, and he did not care.

Soon he would know when he was feeling something inside her moving, soon he would be holding his newborn boy in his arms. He could not imagine a more wonderful thing.

That was when Charlotte stirred, groaning and she looked as if she was in pain. Ian immediately sat up and tried to see what was wrong.

"Cramp." Charlotte gasped. It hurt an awful lot, and Ian had no idea of what he should do about it. He tried to help her through it, but he really did not know what to do. He had no experience of such things. So his attempts at soothing was rather clumsy.

"It's not dangerous Ian." Charlotte said as it wore off. "It's just a cramp."

Ian nodded and kissed her softly on the cheek, telling her that she should rest some. Then he walked back out into the living room. Closing the door to the bedroom he noticed that his hands were shaking, he was shaking.

He had not been prepared for that. It had looked like it was painful. What he knew of cramps was that they were painful. It was not right though, it just was not right.

It was instinct that made him go to the bathroom, for he was not aware of how sick he felt until he was kneeling over the porcelain. He had not been prepared for that, and it had been a shock for him. A part of the queasiness went away with his dinner, and he rinsed out his mouth as he headed back out into the living room. Sinking down onto the couch.

"Ian."

He was not aware of the door having opened or the others come back, but there was Gregor beside him. "What's wrong Ian?" Gregor took a steady hold of his arms, he did not like how pale Ian was.

"It's not supposed to hurt, it should not. It's wrong Gregor, it's wrong." Ian choked.

Phil had gone into the bedroom to make sure that Charlotte was alright. She assured him that she was well, but when the cramp wore off she had been too weary to notice how Ian was feeling. Phil did not say anything about it either. She needed to rest for a bit, and Ian was alright. He was just shaken.

"Charlotte is alright." Gregor said soothingly to Ian. "Those things are normal for pregnancy. It is nothing bad Ian."

Victor frowned a bit but nodded his agreement even if Ian was not looking at him. He knew as much about pregnancy that he had heard about morning sickness and a few other discomforts.

"It shouldn't be, it's all wrong." Ian shook his head. "It's a child, it's something good, it should not hurt."

Gregor reached one arm over Ian's shoulders, giving him something firm and solid. There was no point in saying anything more, Ian would not really register what they were saying anyway. He was upset, because he had not realised that Charlotte could suffer any pain at all during the pregnancy. He had not allowed himself to realise it. Most likely because he could not stand the thought of it at the moment.

Something that allowed them to know that he was not really over all the effects of the depression he had suffered. There were still setbacks, and they suspected that it would be even more time before he would be over it completely.

Then Ian rubbed his hands over his face, pushed back his hair and then headed into the bathroom. Soon they could hear the shower going. It was something that had happened a few times before. Ian when upset enough would feel chilled.

They did not really like it, for it meant that the water in the shower would be scalding hot, and he would not even notice it. Instead he would stand in the shower convinced that he was still feeling cold. It was however nothing they could do about it, and the few times that it had happened it had never done Ian any harm.

Unless you counted the occasional low degree burn. The important thing was that by the time he came back out of the shower again he would be over the shock of it, so they allowed him to take his time.

When he came out of he shower he was looking a bit hot and flushed, perhaps a bit tense, but otherwise he appeared calm enough. Still no one said anything as they did not want to upset him anymore.

Charlotte when she was told about it later decided on two things. She would try to make sure that he never saw anything like that again. The pain of it did not bother her. Not when it came with her child, but apparently Ian was not ready to learn about such things.

More important, Ian would be banned from the actual birth, and never mind that doctors now days approved of the father being present and actually encouraged it. She was not allowing Ian anywhere near the room where she would be giving birth. She feared he would feel bad over if before, now she actually feared what would happen if he should see it.

She wanted more than one child, she definitely wanted a sibling to this child, but she feared that Ian would be afraid to if he thought that it was too much pain involved.

When she asked him if he had been okay he just evaded the question, like the others had said he would. Refusing to talk about it. He would not say anything about what he had done in the afternoon, and still she could see the discomfort he was feeling over it.

He still laid his hand on her belly as he lay beside her in the bed, but even if the touch was still filled with awe and love, then there was the slightest bit of fear in his eyes as well. Ian had been hurt so badly that he was still very vulnerable.

She hated to see that look in his eyes, one of horror and desperation. She had only ever seen that look in the eyes of children before. A child that had lost sight of his parents in the shopping centre, that was overwhelmed by the large open area, but that had not begun to panic yet. The few moments before the child would start crying, that was when they looked like that.

Ian would not cry, she was certain of that. He would however feel the panic. Hoping to calm his fears at least somewhat she wrapped both her arms around him. Hoping that he would feel safe again.

After that she also engaged the others to keep him occupied at the times when she needed him to be distracted. Whenever she felt a twinge of the pain that came before a cramp she would just motion to one of them to get Ian out of there. Out of the room or out of the apartment, as long as he did not notice what was happening it did not matter.

One of them always stayed with her as well. Now that she was closer to term they would not leave her alone in case anything would happen. It made her feel very safe.

The first time the baby kicked was also one of the best memories she had of the pregnancy. They had all of them been sitting in the living room in front of the telly. Ian with one hand behind her neck, and the other on her belly. Then the baby had kicked. Ian had just whipped his head around and stared, mouth hanging open. As soon as the others realised what had happened they were crowding around her, all of them trying to touch one hand to her belly to feel the child move.

The expression on Ian's face then was pure happiness.

* * *

When the time for the labour came Ian was calm all the way to the hospital, all the time until he was separated from her. He wanted to follow, he desperately wanted to make sure that both her and the child would be alright, but he was held back. Both Gregor and Victor was holding his arms in a steady but gentle grip, while Phil was getting some information from a nurse before everyone would disappear and leave them to wait on their own.

They got a few odd looks as they were four men with one woman. It was common that the parents to be were accompanied by a parent or a sibling of their own, but not by three other grown men.

The three of them was however unfazed by the fact that they were an oddity, in fact they could not have cared less. They just wanted to make sure that their friend made it through the waiting.

* * *

This is the end of this chapter, I shall update again in two weeks, and keep the updates up every second week.

I want to thank everyone who read my earlier National Treasure story, thank you, all of you.

I have now switched to the direct review response for all signed reviews.


	14. Like A Rubber Ball

Author's note: This is based on the movie National Treasure, and is to a great deal dedicated to the more than worthy performance of Sean Bean. I enjoyed the movie very much, but I thought that since Ben and Ian often used similar methods to reach the same goal, I did not see one of them as more evil than the other. I also thought that the hints of the friendship we saw between them should be explored more. I began doing that in 'Who Did You Say Stole the Declaration,' this story takes up a short time after that one ended, and is my version of what happened next. I hope you all shall like it.

Big thanks to LadyDeb1970 who have been going over this for me, and helped me with plot and story ideas. Also to Celebrion for being my beta.

Disclaimer: I do not own National Treasure. I just borrowed it because I like Sean Bean as an actor. I will return all characters in good and whole order, completely undamaged, if covered with a slight glue residue from having been put together again. I also swear I will not make any serious attempt at stealing Ian. More than I already have that is…

The name of Thomas McDowell have been stolen from LadyDeb1970, with her kind permission, as well as one or two other details.

/Elenhin

* * *

Chapter 14, **_Like A Rubber Ball_**

"Are you sure that you do not want the father to be here with you?" The nurse who helped prepare Charlotte asked. "We have found that it is usually a good thing for the father to be present. Even if it can be hard to convince them of it at times."

"I am sure." Charlotte was nervous, but she was not that worried. The child she was about to give birth to was Ian's, if any child was strong enough to get through the birth it would be his. "He has been very unwell lately. I fear that this would make him relapse. It has been wearing on him much already thinking that I might be in any pain."

She was not really sure whether they believed her or not, or if they thought that she was merely making excuses for a husband who did not want to be present at the birth, and she did not really care, because then the contractions started. Suddenly she did not really care about anything else then her child that was about to be born.

* * *

Phil was not sure if he had ever seen Ian so upset and distraught before. Ian who usually stayed calm through everything. Now he was up one moment to pace, then before he had taken one step he was sitting down again. Every other second he would rake a hand trough his hair. It was as if he was a puppet on a string, and the puppet master had allowed a kitten to play with the strings. He was going one direction at one moment, and somewhere else the next.

They had waited a long time, but not all that long. Phil had just recently checked his watch, and it was about time that they ate something. Yet he was not sure if they could get anything at all into Ian. He was so nervous that he looked to be pale.

Gregor went up and retrieved him from where he stood by the far wall. Hands against the painted surface, and breathing heavily trying to steady his nerves by breathing deeply. "Come and sit down." Gregor said soothingly. "There's no need to worry about anything."

"How the bloody hell am I supposed not to worry?" Ian demanded, again pulling his hand though his hair.

"If there is any problem at all they will tell us." Victor informed him. "Just takes some time." He shrugged.

Ian just glared at them as they pushed him down into a seat. "It will be fine Ian." Phil said. "There is no danger for anything."

Ian opened his mouth as if he was about to say something, but then he closed it again and tried to get up. Gregor holding him back by a firm hold on his shoulder.

"No Ian, you'll just get yourself more and more wound up the more you pace." He said firmly.

By the time that a nurse came with the announcement that the child was born all of them were pretty wound up. They had not gotten the chance to find anything at all to eat, as none of them wanted leave long enough to commit the search, and keeping Ian anything close to remotely calm had not been easy.

When they were allowed in with Charlotte he looked almost as weary as she did. Until he saw the infant.

Ian stopped mid step as he caught sight of the tiny bundle in Charlotte's arms. The infant was quiet because busy feeding. Eyes screwed tightly shut, and a tiny fist flailing around.

Ian would have remained rooted to the floor if Victor had not taken a hold of his arm and gotten him moving again.

Charlotte had never seen any man more taken with anything before. He looked like the man who had seen the biggest treasure in the world.

"Ian, this is your daughter." She said softly and smiled as Ian did not even think of taking the chair next to the bed where she lay. Instead he was down kneeling on the floor. "I was going to name her Janna, do you like that name?"

"My daughter." Ian repeated dumbly, as if the information was to much to take in. "My daughter." He repeated in a whisper.

"Your daughter, yes." Charlotte smiled at the rest of them, a smile of gratitude that they had gotten Ian though it all.

"She's beautiful." Phil said with a warm smile. The others did not really appear capable of saying anything at all at the moment. Both of them staring at the infant.

"She's, she's." Ian broke off because he could not find the words. He lifted one hand and reached out as if to brush his finger against his cheek, but hesitated. "So wonderful." He shook his head. "I can not believe that she is my daughter."

"She is." Charlotte smiled. "Do you like the name Janna for her?" She asked again.

"It's perfect." Finally Ian dared to stroke that soft cheek. It was so wonderful to gaze into the face of his daughter.

The infant finished feeding, and so Charlotte covered herself up again. "Hold her." She told Ian.

"I don't dare to." Ian was actually close to stuttering. "What if I hurt her?"

"You won't." Charlotte soothed him. "Just hold her Ian, she is your daughter, she has been longing for you." She would not listen to any objections, and so Ian soon sat cradling his newborn daughter in his arms. He could not have imagined anything better then, he was actually holding his own daughter in his arms, and it was the best moment in his entire life.

It was plain on his face as well. He was sitting on the floor with his daughter in his arms, and just stared at the tiny infant, a dumbstruck expression on his face. Slowly he traced her features with his finger, as if he could not believe that what he was seeing was real but had to feel it as well.

Charlotte glared at the other men to make sure that no one laughed at him. This was not the time to let Ian know that he did look a bit silly like that. On the other hand it was apparently not necessary.

All three of them was hanging over Ian's shoulders to get as good a look as possible. All grinning like fools.

They all looked the poster image of a proud father, and she was willing to bet that they felt like it all of them.

Ian certainly did not pay attention to anything else until the infant began to cry out.

"What did I do?" He asked worriedly, looking to Charlotte for help. "What did I do wrong?"

"Nothing at all." Charlotte soothed him. "Either she wants more food, or she wants to sleep. Infants cry a lot Ian, it does not mean you did something wrong, and you did it perfectly right."

She brushed a kiss against his cheek as he handed the baby back, he might even have noticed that she did it, it was really rather hard to tell as he still did not have eyes for anything else than his daughter.

The nurses eventually made them leave saying that the mother and the child needed to rest. Ian was more than reluctant to leave. The thought of leaving his daughter even for a day seemed like an impossible thing to do. He had longed so to see her, and yet he could not stay with her.

It was his friends who lead him out as they chuckled. Assuring him that they would be back again in the morning.

Ian took them on their word, meaning he tried to drag them up at the crack of dawn. When the clock struck six in the morning Ian was shaking Victor awake.

"Come on, it's time to get going." Ian urged. He had not been able to sleep at all because he was so exited about going back and seeing his daughter again. He was so exited about the fact that he had a daughter that he had not been able to think about anything else.

Victor forced his eyes open. "Ian, it's to early to go there. Go back to sleep." He tried to roll over.

"I can't sleep." Ian ran a hand through his hair. "I have a daughter Victor, a daughter. I want to go to her, I need to go to her."

"No, you need to sleep. She won't even be awake. Ian they will not even let you in there this early. Now go back to bed." Victor tried to kill a yawn.

"I can't sleep, I really can't." Ian shook his head. "I just have to look at her again."

Victor groaned but sat up, placing a hand on Ian's shoulder. "Listen to me, I understand, now you have to understand something Ian. It is too early, they do not allow visitors this early. You have to wait, and since you have to wait, go and sleep."

Ian looked at him as if he had no idea what he was talking about. "Could you wait?" He asked.

Victor stifled another yawn. "I'd have to. You'd make me, and even if not, they would not let me in. Listen to me Ian, that girl there is your daughter, and the closest thing to a daughter I will ever have. I want to go back and see her as much as you do."

"Then let's go." Ian begged.

Victor sighed, it was at times like this that you really needed Shaw. He was the only one who could tell Ian to shut up and go to bed again. The best he could do was nowhere near Shaw's ability. Yet at least it would give him a short respite.

"Get Gregor up first." He muttered. Ian nodded and took off to wake Gregor up, making it possible for Victor to roll over and go back to sleep. Leaving Gregor to try and deal with the overly excited father.

Of course, you could always count on dear Gregor to be vindictive enough to send him back. How wound up did a guy have to be not to notice that he was being passed back and forth between the two of them like a rubber ball?

Victor and Gregor was more inclined to rue the fact that neither one of them thought to send him over to Phil. It was not fair that he was the only one who had been allowed to sleep through the whole night.

At least they were allowed in when they came, Victor had no idea of how they had managed it, but they had even made Ian wait long enough for breakfast.

It was Phil who had threatened him with telling Charlotte that he was not eating if he did not. Still Ian was the image of a child who had discovered that coffee made you active, and had emptied pot after pot.

Until he was in the same room as Charlotte and his daughter again. It was a room with six new mothers and their babies in it. As soon as Ian saw his daughter he stopped in his tracks again. Just staring at the child in Charlotte's arms.

"Now he is taking it easy." Victor groaned. "Before you could not get him to be still for a moment."

"She's so beautiful." Ian whispered softly. He was looking at his daughter, his daughter.

"She is your daughter Ian." Charlotte smiled at him. "Of course she is beautiful."

"Like her mother." Ian walked closer to the bed and reached over his daughter to kiss Charlotte on the cheek. Then he turned back his attention to his daughter. Her eyes was half closed as if she was sleepy, but she was still looking at Ian. He reached to stroke her cheek gently with his finger.

"Sit down Ian." Charlotte told him, motioning to the chair beside the bed. "You hold her and let the others have a good look."

This time Ian did not object, he was still terrified that he would hurt his daughter by accident. Yet it had been so wonderful to hold her the first time that he could not resist. He was too taken with her to even be afraid.

The others crowded around him, looking at the baby and Charlotte chuckled. She felt so happy for her daughter, and even more so when Ian and the others were there.

"Have you told Ben that she is born?" She asked. She rather suspected that he had forgotten about that detail. She would not be surprised if he had, but she would have been very surprised if he had remembered it.

He shook his head and looked sheepish, so clearly he had not recalled to do it.

"I'll do it." She said with a smile. "I need a breath of air anyway. Just hold her while I am gone Ian." It was not really a necessary instruction. Ian was not about to let go anytime soon. Yet Phil tore himself from the infant to go with her and make sure that she was alright. She suspected that their over-protectiveness during the pregnancy had yet to wear off. She hoped that it would wear off, because frankly, not being allowed to go anywhere on your own could get tiresome at times.

Phil handed her his cell phone, and she made the call to Abigail, preferring to talk to her instead of Ben. She did not know why, but Abigail seemed more compassionate in some way. Maybe because when she herself had been telling Ben off, Abigail had actually noticed how distressed Ian had been and even moved to take care of him.

If Abigail had not done that, then Charlotte would have been forced to let Ben get away with it at the moment. Ben who had not even noticed. Ben had started to turn into a pompous bastard if you asked Charlotte. Either Ian would be able to do something about that, or Charlotte would only allow it to get so far before she acted.

Now however they needed to know that they could soon leave to follow the first clue. As soon as Janna was old enough to be taken along safely. She wanted her to be at least four months old or so first, not because it was strictly necessary, she just wanted them all to settle into the routine of having a small child with them before they moved.

It made sense. Then she had to get back to Ian before Janna began screaming over something. She was quite certain that Ian would not know how to handle that quite yet, which was a good reason to wait until he realised that a baby was not dying just because she was screaming. It usually just meant that she was hungry.

It was a good thing that she got back when she did. Janna was beginning to fret, and Ian was trying to sooth her. For a new and uncertain father he was doing a very good job of it. If not, Janna would have been screaming by now.

Ian was rocking her gently in his arms, speaking softly to her. Charlotte thought that he was a natural with the baby.

"I think that she's hungry." She said as she kissed Ian. "I'll just feed her."

"Does she eat often?" Ian asked as Charlotte took the baby back.

"All infants eat often Ian." She explained. "Our little Janna still have a healthy appetite though."

"Where did the name 'Janna' come from?" Victor asked.

Ian gave Charlotte a curious look. He had just thought that Charlotte had liked the name, he had not even considered the fact that it might come from something else."

"It was close to Ian." Charlotte smiled smugly.

Ian stared at her.

"Should have been Ianna then." Victor frowned. "That's closer."

"It's not a real name." Charlotte objected.

"It's a lot closer to Ian than Janna." Gregor agreed. "Fits her as well."

Charlotte had a feeling that henceforth they would be calling her Ianna. It was just Ian who did not look as if he had been comprehending the exchange.

"We'll name her Janna." Charlotte told them. "But you can call her Ianna if you want to."

The others seemed please with the solution, and Ian still seemed surprised over the fact that his daughter was named after him. Like if she could have named her after anyone else.

* * *

It was so amusing to see them with the child, when they were at home and the infant was lying on a blanket on the floor there was always one or the other there on the floor beside her. Right now it was Ian and Phil stretched out on the floor. Both of them trying to get Ianna's attention with baby toys. Ianna ignored them both for the fun of pulling on her own foot.

Charlotte laughed at the three of them. Children were so cute they just where. She had not imagined that anyone would be happy to be changing diapers. Yet not only did Ian not seem to mind that part. He would eagerly go and do it. He also did not whine about midnight feedings. They had prepared a huge wicker basket as a crib, because that one they could take with them when they left, and Ianna was happy to sleep in it.

Whenever she began crying Ian would wake up, he was usually a light sleeper. So when Charlotte woke up for the feeding he had already brought her over to her. All she had to do was the actual feeding and then Ian would take Ianna back to bed again.

She had heard rumours that no men ever acted that way about it, and yet here was a living example of one who did. It was a struggle to make Ian leave the child for anything at all. He was just too taken with the concept of being a father.

Charlotte thought about how her father had congratulated them on the infant, he had been so proud as well. He also knew they would be leaving for a bit, but he trusted her and Ian. Ian was not overly comfortable around him though. He was so afraid that he would fail. So her father chose not to impede on them much, understanding what it was Ian had been going though. He understood it very well.

He had also seen all the proof he needed that Ian would do all he could to protect both mother and child. He had also now met the rest of them, and he seemed to like them all.

It was a good thing, it would be a problem if your father did not like the man of your choice, or his friends. Especially when they spent as much time together as Ian and his men did. She felt certain that later they would all live together, it just would not be able to separate them, and she did not mind the thought one bit.

Yet it felt great to be able to relax after the pregnancy, it had been rather taxing on her strength. Especially since she did not want Ian to find out about how draining some of the things could be. She still wanted at least one more child, but not just yet. She could wait a while first.

Let this one get a year or so before there was any siblings.

It would probably take that long to get Ian to pay her any attention again, for the moment he only had eyes for his daughter. She did not mind, it was so fun to watch him on the floor with a baby toy. Especially when Ianna went to sleep and Ian just lay there beside her, watching her, it was so cute.

She had not thought that someone as active as Ian could just lay on the floor for hours staring at a kid, but he could. He was doing it every day.

* * *

This is the end of this chapter, I shall update again in two weeks, and keep the updates up every second week.

I want to thank everyone who read my earlier National Treasure story, thank you, all of you.

I have now switched to the direct review response for all signed reviews.


	15. The Weeping Willow

Author's note: This is based on the movie National Treasure, and is to a great deal dedicated to the more than worthy performance of Sean Bean. I enjoyed the movie very much, but I thought that since Ben and Ian often used similar methods to reach the same goal, I did not see one of them as more evil than the other. I also thought that the hints of the friendship we saw between them should be explored more. I began doing that in 'Who Did You Say Stole the Declaration,' this story takes up a short time after that one ended, and is my version of what happened next. I hope you all shall like it.

Big thanks to LadyDeb1970 who have been going over this for me, and helped me with plot and story ideas. Also to Celebrion for being my beta.

Disclaimer: I do not own National Treasure. I just borrowed it because I like Sean Bean as an actor. I will return all characters in good and whole order, completely undamaged, if covered with a slight glue residue from having been put together again. I also swear I will not make any serious attempt at stealing Ian. More than I already have that is…

The name of Thomas McDowell have been stolen from LadyDeb1970, with her kind permission, as well as one or two other details. Charlotte and Ianna are my own characters. Please do not steal without permission.

/Elenhin

* * *

Chapter 15 _**The Weeping Willow**_

Then they were moving again, out to find the first clue. Charlotte felt really excited about it. Ian prepared himself for these things, he had gotten a mini buss that would seat all of them, and a carry along chair for the baby that could be used in the car.

Ian seemed different she thought as she looked at him. He looked very determined, as one who knew exactly what he was doing. He was strolling confidently. Even when he consulted the map he looked exactly like he knew where he was going.

Ben Gates was always there next to him and looking at the map alongside of him, and Ian showed him where they were going. While the others hung back, trusting Ian to tell them what they needed to know.

It was interesting to watch. They certainly got an odd glance or two. There was Ben in some fancy if not overly stiff clothes, standing next to Ian and tracing the map with a finger. Then there was Ian in one of his big and a bit baggy sweaters, standing there with his daughter cradled in one arm, and pointing at the map. He was the very image of confidence.

Even with an infant in his arms. At least he had gotten used to carrying Ianna without fearing that he would harm her. Ian was a natural with his daughter. Shielding her with his jacket whenever there was a draft, and Ianna had discovered that if she reached up, she could get a hold on his hair.

Ian winced whenever she tugged, but he allowed her to do it, which was probably why she did it, Charlotte was always working her tresses lose whenever Ianna pulled at her hair. For such a small one she was really quite strong, and it hurt, but Ian did not seem to mind it.

"Where is that weeping willow?" Ben asked looking around.

Ian stroked Ianna's cheek gently. "Should be just a block or so away." He was still looking at Ianna, she had been whining a little, but now she was calm again. "They kept the gallows around here."

"Where?" Riley looked around.

"Riley, the gallows was a tree and a rope." Ian chuckled. "Willows does not become several hundred years old before they fall down, the tree have been gone for ages."

"Then how are we supposed to find it?" Riley asked.

"The tree is gone, but some things still remain." Ian smiled as they continued walking, shifting Ianna so his moving would disturb her as little as possible. "There was a pub there, the willow was in the back yard, and now the pub uses it as a sort of tourist attraction."

He stopped and regarded an old stone building with a pub sign hanging down the front. On the sign was painted the image of a weeping willow. He tapped a metal badge on the wall.

"See here, this is an historical building. It will stand for hundreds of years more." He grinned as he regarded it. He was here, he had dreamt about going here, and now he was here.

Confidently he pushed open the door and walked inside. This early in the day there was not many guests in the pub. Only a few of them scattered at the tables and one or two at the bar.

Ian smiled warmly and walked over to the bar. Nodding at the man behind the counter.

"What can I do for you?" The bar keeper grinned.

"We're interested in the weeping Willow and the tales about it." Ian grinned. "Story of distant family you might say. I thought that when I was in these parts I might as well stop and find out a bit more about it."

"Distant family story?" The bar keeper asked curiously.

"Aye." Ian gave him another warm smile. "My great aunt told me about it, and I remembered it."

Ben nodded in appreciation. It was a smart move of Ian to come up with an explanation like that. He had not thought how people would get curious, but it appeared that Ian had, and had come up with an believable excuse. Made even more believable when you thought about Ian's English accent.

One could almost think that it was true every word of it, even if you knew Ian, and knew that it was not true. You could still believe it when you heard him speak with that clear English accent. When he did that it was easy to see how he had convinced various people of different things.

Ian could me most convincing when he wanted to, even when standing cradling an infant. It was remarkable to see in some ways.

"Well then, we shall see if we can not help you with that." The barkeeper smiled. "I assume you know about young Willow then though?"

"Yes, I know some about him." Ian nodded. "Turns out he might have been hung innocent."

"Yes, precisely." In short the barkeeper told them how a young man named Willow had been convicted and hanged for the murder of another man. Only after wards if was discovered that maybe it was not Willow after all. "We call it the weeping Willow." The man went on. "Because of how Willow wept, and because legend has it that the bark of the tree was always wet with his tears afterwards." He smiled at them again. "We have a painting about it upstairs if you want to see?"

"We would really like that." Ian nodded.

At some level Ben reacted to the fact that Ian acted as if he was in charge, but on the other hand he had to admit that Ian was better at these sort of things than he was himself. Ian could appear so very innocent while he told these lies.

In one way it was scary to know that you could not tell if Ian was telling the truth or not, on the other hand he had already known that he was very good at bluffing. When they played poker not even his own men knew if he were bluffing or not. They just guessed, and then Ian would grin at them, because he knew they could not be certain.

The bar keeper took them up the stair and showed them a corridor where a very old painting hung. It was of the gallows where a man hung, and in the back ground was a grave yard. It was a quite chilling effect made by it, there was no mistaking that the man in the gallows where hung to death. Ben noted with a shiver that there was one open grave in the graveyard, with a coffin beside it, the lid leaning against the side. A shovel stuck in a mound of dirt.

Ian studied it closely, he seemed untouched by the severity of what he saw.

"Would you mind if I took a few pictures?" He asked the bar keeper taking a digital camera out of his pocket.

Ben had not even known he was carrying it with him. Yet now that he thought about it, it was really a good idea. The bar keeper motioned to Ian to go right ahead with it.

Ian allowed Charlotte to take Ianna before proceeding to take a few pictures of the painting. Ianna seemed to like the flashes for she was laughing and waving her arms.

"Do you want to take pictures as well?" Ian chuckled. He moved over and aiming the camera he held it so Ianna could reach it, then guided her hand to the button and thus Ianna took several pictures. Charlotte laughing and even the bar keeper was chuckling.

Ianna seemed to love it, she was laughing and slapping the camera with her hand. She seemed a bit disappointed when Ian pocketed the camera again, but she cheered up when he took her back and she could pull on his hair again.

"Serves me right for taking your toy, I suppose." Ian winced as it was clear that Ianna was getting stronger at the same rate as she grew.

They went down stairs again, and Ian ordered a round of ale for them while they talked with the bar keeper. He was asking polite questions about the history of the place all the time, and the man was all to happy to answer.

Soon the two of them was engrossed in a discussion that both of them seemed to enjoy, Ben adding in a question every now and again. It also seemed like the man quite enjoyed to watch Ianna play with every thing that she could get her hands on.

Even while he talked Ian would find something to amuse here with, he hauled some other baby toy out of his jacket pocket. Some soft bear on a thick stretchable string. While Ian continued the discussion he was playing tug of war with his daughter.

She would grab on to the bear and pull, while Ian both tugged and gave in so that she laughed. After some time they had been told the entire history of young Willow and his unfortunate end.

"That was a very smart thing to do, Ian." Ben admitted as soon as they were outside again.

"What, taking pictures?" Ian asked, he had been all over the place before they left, with the exclusive permission of the owner, who had appeared to have taken to Ian. One other thing Ian had done was allowing the man to hold Ianna while Ian took pictures of her. Something that made them appear only more like tourists.

Now he looked up at Ben from the tug of war that he was still playing with a laughing Ianna.

"Well, that." Ben nodded. "But telling him that you had heard about it through family, it was a really brilliant move. Now he will not be wondering what made us so much more interested than people usually are."

"I usually try to find things that I know people will believe." Ian said with a wry grin as he allowed Ianna to win one round, then he looked up at Ben. "You see Ben, that is the mistake the guy who tried to pull the scam did. He counted on everyone being so impressed that they would not ask any questions, I on the other hand always ask questions, and so I make sure that I can answer them as well."

"You mean that if he had asked you could have give him your great aunts name?" Ben wondered curiously.

Ian laughed amused and he looked to the side for a moment. "Come now Ben, if I had been asked about her name, and I had stood there thinking, would that not have been suspicious? Of course I could have given him a name had he asked." He turned to the others, still grinning broadly. "Gentlemen, do you not recall how I told you about my great aunt Lindsay?" He asked.

The rest of them all grinned and chuckled, as if he had indeed done that. Ben assumed that they were so used to Ian that they could agree with anything he said at an instant. It would indeed make Ian all the more believable when he wanted to.

"So, where was the next clue?" Riley asked impatient.

"I have no idea." Ben told him, I think that I need to do some more thinking about it."

"No idea, eh Ben?" Ian grinned.

Ben looked at his smile as he was still toying with the bear and Ianna, and he almost got annoyed at his teasing tone, it was not like Ian would be any better at it then him. Those things were very difficult.

"I have been told that you are the one who can always figure out the clues." Ian went on, laughing as Ianna pulled the bear out of his hand, she then laughed and proceeded to chew on it. Then she tiered of it and dropped it, Abigail had to admit that she was impressed of how Ian caught it in the fall. He did not even jostle his daughter, he clearly had good reflexes. Ian put the toy back into his pocket since Ianna seemed to have tiered of it.

"These things are not easy to figure out Ian." Ben said dryly.

"I have an idea of what it might be." Ian admitted. "Thought I need to look at the pictures to be sure."

"You wont be able to see much unless you download them to a computer." Riley as the computer expert pointed out.

"Which is why we brought one with us, I just left it in the car for the moment." Again Ian grinned that peculiar way and tilted his head to the side. "I do know a thing or two about computers Riley."

They headed back to the car and Victor pulled out a small but compact laptop, Riley recognized it as a very practical and efficient one, so maybe Ian did know a bit about computers. At least as much as he said he did.

While the computer booted up Ian handed Victor the digital camera and Victor dug out a cable to hook it to the computer, he soon had down loaded all the pictures to the computer, and here Riley admitted that these guys knew what they were doing, for the first thing they did was copy them over to a cd, to minimize the risk that they would be lost.

It was a most prudent thing to do. Riley was actually rather impressed that they had thought about it.

Soon all of them crowded around the computer, all of them looking on the screen. Ian was using the space key on the keyboard to move between the pictures, he stopped at a close up of the painting.

"There, there you have the next clue." He said confidently.

"I do not see anything." Ben objected.

"Just look at it." Ian pointed at the screen. "See the background behind the tree, it's a graveyard. Yet there is no graveyard where the tree was standing, so why would they paint it there?"

"Perhaps the painter just wanted you to comprehend what you were seeing." Ben pointed out. "Some people seems untouched by even those things."

"Like me then." Ian nodded. "I am not that cold Ben, but a mere painting is not enough to make me feel the cold chills." He looked Ben in the eye. "Look at the graves Ben, the only thing you see clearly is the head stones, now, the first clue we found was connected to the headstones. I say that it is time we go and check out the graveyard."

"Aw, more dead guys." Riley whined.

"Dead guys are not so bad, Riley." Ian chuckled. "It's the living ones you generally have to worry about."

Riley gave him a startled look.

"Okay, we can check it out." Ben agreed. It could not hurt, he could be right, and at worst they would be a bit delayed, and that was not so bad.

Victor shut down the laptop, and they moved down along the road again, heading towards the cemetery.

"What do we do now?" Ben asked when they were there. "Nothing here looks like the painting, Ian."

Ian handed Ianna over to Charlotte and pulled the camera out of his pocket again. Brining up the previous pictures on the small screen.

"Look here Ben, a few of the head stones here looks like the ones on the painting, now if we find those, and note what is on them, then that should give us the next clue." He grinned as Ben noticed that he was right. There were a few headstones that were identical to the ones in the paintings.

They walked around for quite some time searching out all the headstones that could be recognised from the painting. Ben noted the names and dates on a paper, while Ian took some detailed pictures of all of them.

"Try matching them against the Declaration." Ian suggested as they had taken seats at a café for something to eat. "That was the key the last time."

"It makes sense I suppose." Abigail admitted. "We used the declaration a whole lot the last time, but then we would have to go back to Washington to see if it really is that."

"No." Ian shook his head. "I have a few scans of it in the laptop. I thought that it might come in handy." He turned the notes over to Ben, spinning the laptop around as well. "Do you want to give it a try?"

"Sure." Ben took his notes and the laptop where Ian had brought up a scan of the Declaration. It had been digitally enhanced to be easier to read, and he had no trouble finding the right letters.

He Wrote down the new clue on the paper. Then he grinned at them confidently. "I have it." He declared. "Over Mermaid every day. In her harbour stay."

"So what does that mean." Riley wanted to know.

"I don't know." Ben admitted. "It could be anything related to Mermaids. Its not making any sense though. Mermaids never stayed in harbours. They were always out on the open sea, I don't know, maybe it relates to an island or something." He thought out loud. "Why would a Mermaid be in a harbour."

"Might not be an actual Mermaid." Gregor frowned.

"It says Mermaid here." Ben insisted. "It has to be a Mermaid." He looked at Ian who sat and seemed to be muttering to himself. Then Ian reached for the pen and notepad and began writing something.

"Ian, could you help me figure this out?" Ben asked.

"Oh, yeah, sure." Ian said absently. "It's not an actual Mermaid as such Ben." He said as he continued to write. "I know where it is, England."

"Why England." Ben wanted to know. "England have no great history of Mermaids Ian."

"They have of this one." Ian noted as he frowned at the screen. "The Mermaid was the name of a ship that went up and down a river in England for near three hundred years. It was said that she carried the name Mermaid because she had the grace and beauty of one. It was also said that she would live as long as one."

"That does not give us anything on the harbour." Ben pointed out. "If it is a ship as you say, and it travelled the river, then it could be any harbour."

"She travelled along the river." Ian agreed. "But she only hailed from one harbour. That is where we shall have to go."

"How do you know this?" Ben wanted to know.

Ian ripped the sheet of paper he had bee writing on out and put it in his pocket. "My great aunt Lindsay told me." He chuckled.

Ben supposed Ian had not learnt about it in any legal way, since he did not seem to be wanting to share the information with the rest of them. Well, he guessed that it was really up to Ian after all. There were things that he did not particularly want to share with him.

"So you know where the place is?" He merely asked.

Ian nodded thoughtfully as he received his daughter back by Charlotte. She liked to allow Ian to carry her since he always looked so happy when he did. Also, after a while the child grew very heavy, and he did not seem to notice that.

"It is in England." He said bouncing Ianna up and down on his lap and making her laugh happily. "Not to far from the Scottish border."

"So we have to go to England." Ben frowned. Why did they have to go there, why could they not remain in the states while searching for the treasure. He wanted to be in a land of such historical importance as the states provided.

Ian gave him an understanding look. "Ben, a lot of America's history comes from England to start with, and other places as well."

"Yeah, even the Statue of Liberty comes from France." Gregor chimed in.

"Nothing wrong about England as far as history goes." Ian went on. "I'm from English heritage, even if I know that you do not see me as an example of good things that came out of there Abigail." He grinned teasingly. "But I do know about my country's history, almost as well as Ben knows his, and trust me when I say that we have come up with one or two good things, and not only James Bond."

His three men sniggered about the remark about the English agent.

"England it is then." Ben agreed. "We'll need passports and some English currency."

"We've got that." Victor noted. "Right?"

"We do." Ian agreed. "I have an English account Ben, I can draw the right currency from it. We can head straight to the nearest airport and take the next flight unless there is anything that you need first."

"We are ready." Abigail stated firmly. She was actually looking forward to going to England. She had never been there yet, but she had wanted to. She had just never gotten around to it.

"When was the last time you were in England, Ian?" Ben asked as they were headed towards the closest airport. Ben had insisted on driving, and Ian sat in the front seat next to him, laptop balanced over his knees. Since there was two front seats other than the drivers seat Charlotte had taken the other one.

"A few years ago." Ian said absently as he was still working on the computer. He had plugged it to the cars cigarette lighter outlet for power.

Ben had not known that you could do that, but Riley had not seemed to be surprised at all, so he guessed that it was as it should be. Apparently Ian had even managed to connect himself to the internet. Ben was almost beginning to suspect that Ian could do all the fancy computer stuff that Riley was the expert on.

"I've been back there every now and again for most of my life." Ian continued as he frowned over the screen. "I rather like it there I suppose. England have a few charms that can't be found in the States."

"Like what?" Ben wanted to know, what could it possibly be that could not be found in the States as well.

Ian chuckled as he looked up, smiling teasingly in that way that just seemed to hint at a wicked grin. "Such as a nice English fish and chips with vinegar, real English ale, and not to mention the old English castles Ben."

"We have castles in the States." Ben objected.

"Not like those Ben." Ian shook his head. "I was lucky, I was allowed to play in a castle when I was just seven. It was an old Scottish one, I have never seen another one like that one."

"How come you were playing in a Scottish castle?" Abigail asked curiously from where she sat behind Ben.

"My parents thought that it would keep me occupied and out of trouble, at least long enough for them to catch their breath." Ian smiled at her. "T'was a bit of optimistic thinking on their part, but I did not complain about it I must say. I had great fun."

"I can imagine." Ben noted a bit dryly, he could not believe that Ian would have had any respect for the castle he was in, and who knew what he had done there.

"I made pretend that I was on a treasure hunt Ben." Ian sighed. "I was seven. I was never out to destroy things, and especially not at that age." He turned to Charlotte with an expression of mock injured pride. "How come that everyone thinks it is so cool when Indiana Jones wrecks everything, and yet I who have not even destroyed anything, I get blamed for everything?" He asked Charlotte. "There was someone who seemed to think I had levelled the White House to the ground just last week."

Charlotte stroked his cheek soothingly, there was a fake tone of hurt in his voice, so obvious that even Ben, Abigail and Riley chuckled at him and his whining. Yet as he was facing her it was she who saw the true hurt in his eyes. Those words still stung. Ian might act as if he did not care, he might joke about it and he might display all his old confidence during the hunt.

Still, his hand moved from the keyboard and he took her hand, squeezing hard in a request of being comforted, and not wanting to show that he needed it.

"Ian. Those people does not know what they are talking about."

Ian gave a start and looked over his shoulder, it was not Charlotte who had said it, it was Abigail. She gave him a look of sympathy as she had noticed how he changed his posture slightly. She had noticed the haunted look that came over him when he thought about the accusations.

Ian opened his mouth to shrug it off with some witty comment, then he closed it again without saying anything at all, and gave her a small nod of thanks instead. He appreciated it that she could spare a kind word for him, he appreciated it very much.

Ben did not really seem to notice what had occurred as he concentrated on his driving, but he watched as Ian started working on the laptop again. It looked as if he was using some search engine or the other. Ben really had no idea of what he was doing.

"Whatever are you doing anyway?" Ben asked curiously. He could not understand what it was that was so important that Ian had to be on the computer even when they were going in the car.

"I am running a few searches." Ian was back to sounding very absent as he answered. "One part of that last clue made me start thinking, and now I am trying to figure out what it could mean."

"What made you think?" Ben asked even taking his eyes of the road and looking at him for a moment. If Ian had come up with something else on it he wanted to know about it.

"I wanted to be sure before I said to much." Ian shrugged. "But I am thinking that there might have been two clues in one in that last one."

"What?" Ben turned to look at him startled. "What makes you think that?"

Ian sighed, it appeared that Ben was not to fond of the idea that there might have been more to it than he had found. "While you were working out the clue I saw it upside down from where I sat." He said carefully. "And I was thinking that it seemed to match letters that way to, upside down and backwards so to speak. I got another sentence out of it, but I am not sure if it really means anything or not, and that is what I am trying to figure out now."

"What did you get?" Ben wanted to know.

"The complete history of Corivious Minior." Ian noted, I am not sure what it would be, but I am guessing on a book or something, so I am running world wide searches for it."

"Have you come up with anything?" Abigail asked.

"Only a few hints, but nothing with enough for me to act on it." Ian admitted. "Which is why I did not say anything at first Ben, I did not want you to get your hopes up on anything that might just turn out to be a false clue."

"It probably is." Ben agreed, it did not seem like a clue at all to him. At least not a serious one.

"I just think that I recognize it." Ian shrugged. "I can try one more way of searching, but I am not sure if you three will like it."

"Why not?" Abigail asked. "If it might be a lead you should check it out, Ian."

"I am ever so happy that you agree with me." Ian grinned wickedly as he began hammering the keys rapidly. "I do not exactly have access here, but it has proved to be a very useful source of information." He shrugged a bit guiltily again, not sure if anyone would take offence from it or not.

Had anyone objected at that time, Charlotte would have punched them. Had there been any objection when Ian still had that faint hurt look in his eyes, then she would have taken them to task about it. She would not let them think that they could get away with those things and still pick on Ian about it when he did it. Fortunately none of them said anything.

Riley had half curled up in his seat and was apparently attempting to sleep. Gregor seemed to be doing the same thing, having no qualms about using Phil for a pillow, while Phil and Victor was discussing some sport or another, they seemed to be doing it more from the argument in itself than for any actual interest in it, so it appeared to be one way for the two of them to amuse themselves.

Some sort of a road game that the two of them seemed to enjoy playing. Ben had not thought that you could be as many in a car and not get arguments about where you were going and such, but it was only Riley who whined a bit about it taking to long and being hungry.

"We'll get something to eat as soon as possible." Ben promised. He was beginning to feel hungry himself. Yet he did not want to stop, he wanted to be on the next plane they could find. If they had time they could eat at the airport, if not, it would have to wait until they where on the plane. By now most of them were asleep. Only the three in the front seat awake, and Charlotte looking sleepy. She was leaning against Ian.

"The children looks so cute." She noted with a yawn.

"Children?" Ian looked up from the screen he was still staring at.

"The rest of them might be older than Ianna, but they still act like children." She smiled. "And that goes for you as well Ian."

Ben chuckled as he heard Ian being referred to as a child, but Charlotte ignored it, as far as she was concerned, Ben was even worse. If he could just once admit that for once there was someone who knew more than he did.

Now Ian looked out into the gathering darkness. "If you're getting tired I can drive Ben." He offered.

"You haven't slept either." Ben pointed out with a glance to the side.

"Never needed much sleep. Just tell me if you want me to take over." Ian shrugged. If it had been only him and his men, they would have changed driver by now, it was when you drove for to long that you were not as focused anymore. If you changed driver often, then everyone was fresh the whole time.

It did however seem as if Ben wanted to drive because it gave him the feeling that he was in control. It was interesting Ian thought, he had noticed it before. Ben needed to feel like he was on control the whole time, it was not enough to just be in control, it had to be obvious that he was. On the other hand, if you allowed him to feel that he was in charge, he would assume that he was, no matter who controlled him.

It was however not the right time to point it out to him, maybe he could do it later, Ben would not feel that his position as the leader was threatened.

As Charlotte to nodded of towards sleep it did however seem like a good opportunity for some more serious conversation between the two of them. He gently closed the lid on the laptop and looked out into the distance ahead of them.

He really loved to look out on the open road in the darkness. It was a very special feeling.

"It has not worked out as well as we hoped, has it Ben?" He asked, still looking at the road in front of them.

"We seem to have figured out the clues fast enough." Ben said thoughtfully. "I would not have done it so fast alone.

Ian shook his head. "I did not mean the clues Ben, or the treasure hunt. I meant us, we wanted to see if we could be friends again, it has not gone as well as we thought, has it?"

"Oh." Ben said taken back. "I guess not."

Ian looked at him without turning his head, just peering out of the corner of his head. "Do you regret that you did not send me off to prison when you had the chance?"

Ben actually turned his head with surprise and looked at him. "No, I have not. I don't even think Riley have." He turned his attention back onto the road. "I just became so much more busy than I thought I would."

"You don't regret having me here then." Ian restlessly traced some odd pattern on the lid off the laptop, one that only existed in his mind. "If we find that treasure, it will not be just the three of you this time Ben, there will be us as well. Do you regret having us along for it, would you have preferred to go alone again, without us, without me?" He could not look at Ben as he asked that question. He needed to ask as much as he feared the answer he would get. He feared that Ben would say that he wished that he could have gone alone, that the glory of finding another treasure meant more to him than Ian did.

He had always been afraid that he did not mean anything to people, that they would just wash their hands and be rid of him, an old insecurity of his that was far from obvious, but it was still there. He still feared it. He had known that Shaw would never ever be glad to be rid of him, and it had been wonderful to know that.

That no matter what happened Shaw would not let Ian down.

"No." Ben sounded very thoughtful and Ian braved to look at him. "I think that I got all the glory I could have hoped for the last time, and I suppose that you might even have deserved a little of it Ian, but it was not easy to say that we found it because of you." He took a deep breath. "If we find this treasure, it will be we who found it Ian. All of us."

Ian heaved a sigh of relief. "I wonder why it is always so much harder than you think it will be?" He said thoughtfully.

"I don't know." Ben shrugged. "Maybe we did not know each other as well as we thought we did Ian. We both know things that we don't tell. For more reasons than one. Maybe we are still not trusting each other enough."

"Maybe." Ian nodded slowly. "Maybe we got our hopes up to high. I don't really know."

"None of us knows Ian." Ben shrugged. "But at times it feels like I want to know you better than I do."

"I know what you mean." Ian agreed.

"So." Ben said in a fumbling way. "Is there anything about you that you are willing to tell me."

Ian ran a hand though his hair. "There is not much to tell, you already know the most Ben. My life has not been as eventful as some thinks. When I lost my parents I started taking up the criminal career, because I though I might a well seeing as I had nothing else. The rest you know."

Ben turned to him. "I did not know you lost your parents." He said sympathetically. "I know how it is since I lost my mother."

"I lost my parents when I was young, because some stupid bastard would not take responsibility for his actions." Ian said slowly. "I might be criminal, but I take responsibility for what I do. And I am not the kind of coward that allows children to suffer for what I do. I might be a criminal Ben, but I do not cross that line."

He was not sure if Ben believed him, he was not sure if Ben wanted to believe him. Ben had his standard, and Ian had his, and they were really rather far apart. Worse, he was not sure whatever they met at the middle or not.

"It is not enough for an excuse Ian." Ben noted.

"That is what you do not seem to understand Ben." Ian shook his head. "I am not making an excuse, I have never been trying to make and excuse for myself. I am offering you an explanation of why I did it. Not trying to make it alright, because I can't do that. But I can try to let you understand why."

"I guess that there really is a difference there." Ben agreed, sounding very deep in thought. "It's just that the whole concept of doing something you know is illegal is so alien to me. I can't understand why you would do it."

"Really Ben, are you quite sure." Ian asked with a grin.

Ben was silent for a moment, he knew what Ian was talking about, the Declaration. Ben had stolen it, and it had been illegal. There was also the escape from Federal Custody or whatever it was called.

"It is not the same thing Ian, that was a lot different." He said thoughtfully. "I had to, I was afraid that you would destroy it."

"If you think that Ben, then you do not know me at all." Ian looked him in the eye, and there was that faint hurt in his eyes again, the one Ben had never been able to see before, but noticed only after Abigail did, and he realised that for Ian to allow even so little to show, he would be feeling really hurt. "Shall I tell you why I committed my first crime, Ben?" Ian cast a glance out side the side window. "I am still not trying to make up an excuse Ben, I know I can not, but I want you to understand."

"Okay." Ben nodded. "Tell me."

Ian again ran his hand through his hair as he ordered hit thoughts, pushing his hair back from his face. "I was still in school when my parents died, both of them in a stupid accident that should never have been allowed to happen. Because the bastard responsible refused to take that responsibility the insurance only covered the burial, and not even all of that. I was still in school, I had rents to pay and I needed food. I did not want to drop out, and while remaining in school there was no way I could earn enough honestly. So I did some not to honest things."

"There must have been other ways, Ian." Ben noted.

"Yes, there was some social service that I could have gone to." Ian gave a dry laugh. "But they do no good. They did not even find out about me, and they are supposed to make sure that no one can do what I did. But I did not want to get involved with them, if you do once, then you can not get away from them, and I had no desire to wind up in some orphan age, or foster home." He turned to face Ben. "I checked Ben, there was no way they would have just given me financial support. They would have said that I was to young, and they would have made me go to some damned fostering school somewhere. I did not want that."

"Still Ian, I can not help but think that you are not the only one who ever found yourself in that situation." Ben stated carefully, avoiding Ian's eye. "Abigail was telling me about one kid who lost his parents when he was just fifteen, only fifteen Ian, and he did not become criminal for that. I think that he had some relative, but still, he still dealt with it in some other way." He was thinking of Thomas McDowell. Even if Ian had not had any other relative, then that kid had lost more than Ian had. He had lost a part of his heritage and family history.

"We are all different Ben, we all make different decision. And we all make our mistakes."

Ben agreed, and tried to gather courage enough to ask for another thing. "Ian, I just have to ask this, you have been to prison, right?"

Ian nodded, he had been wondering when Ben would ask that, he had been waiting for it for some time.

"Yes, I have. I was sentenced to six months when I was younger." He admitted.

"What had you done?" Ben asked, this time looking at him carefully. Trying to see the subtle changes.

"I struck back for someone who could not. I saw a brute strike a defenceless and so I took it on myself. I was young and stupid, and I acted too rashly. I got six months because they said it was abuse, and I guess they were right. There were better ways to handle the situation on, but we do not always think before we act." He met Ben's eye. "Was that what you had expected it to be?" He asked.

"No not really." Ben admitted. "But I think I like that better than what I had expected."

"Better than burglary yes, certainly." Ian agreed. "You might as well know the rest. Shaw and I encountered each other when I was there. He was hot headed and cocky, and one of the old prisoners, one of the really dangerous ones Ben, far worse than I could ever become, was about to kill him. Because one comment he said. I intervened."

"How?" Ben could not see Ian defeating a prisoner like that one.

"I could talk faster than he could think. After having gotten six months for acting too rashly I was not in the mood for more trouble, but I did not want to see anyone get beaten to death either, not by someone who just wanted everyone to know that he could. So I talked him out of it. I took one punch for the trouble, and Shaw got spared."

"You got beaten yourself for it?" Ben asked baffled. "For someone you did not even know by then."

"Not beaten, I took one punch, and I did not want to see anyone else beaten. But Shaw would never have been able to talk himself out of it. He was to rash back then, he needed someone to steady him, and since he latched onto me it became me."

"Shaw rash back then." Ben noted baffled. "I thought he was rash when I met him."

Ian nodded and tried to swallow down the lump in his throat as he thought about Shaw, and about how he had lost him. "Shaw… was rash." Ian admitted and tried not to let it show tight his throat had suddenly become. "He was, but there were sides to him that you never saw Ben."

"I never got the chance." Ben said as a means of explanation to it.

Ian thought back to those two years before they went after the treasure. When he had introduced Ben Gates to them. They had been drawn back the first moment, and Shaw had been very cautious, but they had tried to let Ben in. There had been jokes and there had been teasing. He recalled how Ben had been just a slight bit superior over them, it was not something he had done on purpose, but it had been there and they had noticed it. He recalled how he had gotten back after having dropped Ben off, and they had all just pounced on him, because they needed to be allowed to act ridiculous, and when Ben was around they took care not to.

"They tried to give you the chance Ben, you just never saw it." Ian's voice was a faint whisper and Ben could barely hear the words.

Ben did not know what to say after that, and neither did Ian, he had not meant to say as much, but he had. He had been fighting the sadness that always came with the memory of Shaw, and so he had said more than he wanted to, and now he did not know what to make of it.

Beside him Charlotte had listened being half asleep. Now sensing how Ian tensed she allowed a sight and a yawn to escape her, letting them know she was awake, and then she just sneaked her arm around Ian, allowing him a way out of answering. As well as somewhere to look so that Ben would not see the pain in his eyes.

He was not ready to let Ben see that just yet, to let Ben know just what it was that he had lost. Maybe he would allow Ben to see that later, he was not sure, but he was not ready for it now.

They stopped to allow Charlotte to feed Ianna, and changed driver. Then they continued to the airport, taking the next flight to England.

* * *

This is the end of this chapter, I shall update again in two weeks, and keep the updates up every second week, or sometimes every week, it depends on whatever the beta has done his work or not.

I want to thank everyone who read my earlier National Treasure story, thank you, all of you.

I have now switched to the direct review response for all signed reviews.


	16. Here Are Your Tickets

Author's note: This is based on the movie National Treasure, and is to a great deal dedicated to the more than worthy performance of Sean Bean. I enjoyed the movie very much, but I thought that since Ben and Ian often used similar methods to reach the same goal, I did not see one of them as more evil than the other. I also thought that the hints of the friendship we saw between them should be explored more. I began doing that in 'Who Did You Say Stole the Declaration,' this story takes up a short time after that one ended, and is my version of what happened next. I hope you all shall like it.

Big thanks to LadyDeb1970 who have been going over this for me, and helped me with plot and story ideas. Also to Celebrion for being my beta.

Disclaimer: I do not own National Treasure. I just borrowed it because I like Sean Bean as an actor. I will return all characters in good and whole order, completely undamaged, if covered with a slight glue residue from having been put together again. I also swear I will not make any serious attempt at stealing Ian. More than I already have that is…

The name of Thomas McDowell have been stolen from LadyDeb1970, with her kind permission, as well as one or two other details.

/Elenhin

* * *

Chapter 16, **_Here Are Your Tickets_**

"All right, gentlemen. Here are your tickets." Ian returned from the ticket stand with a bunch of tickets for them. They had been lucky, there had been a flight within a few hours of when they arrived at the airport, and there had been enough free seats on it. Now Ian stood holding a handful of tickets in his hand. "Now, which ones of you needs it pinned to your coat, and who will not be able to hold on to it even if I pin it to his coat." He grinned mischievously.

Victor and Gregor immediately pointed at Phil who stood between them. He gave them both a baffled look and a glare.

"Then I shall hold on to yours for safe keeping." Ian chuckled. "We would not want for anyone to lose his ticket and get left behind, now would we?"

Phil glared at the other two as Ian actually kept his ticket instead of handing it over to him.

"Could we please find something to eat now?" Riley pleaded as he looked towards the restaurant.

Ben agreed immediately and Ian could agree that they had the time for it. He was not very hungry himself, and could easily have waited until food was served on the plane, but he was also thinking about his men. One or two of them were bound to be hungry. Himself he was exited as well, he had always been exited by flying.

He had flown the first time when he was seven, and went to Scotland to visit his aunt. His parents had taken him to the airport, made sure he was on the right plane, and that he got his bags with him, and then he was on his way. He had been clinging to the window almost the whole time, trying to see the ground beneath him.

Some of that excitement still remained now. Because he could recall how it had been.

Ianna cried a bit at the take off as the pressure changed, and Riley did some whining about it. Ian just popped his ears to level the pressure out, something he could do easily, Ben seemed to be able to do it as well, but since he was a diver, he would have had to learn how to do that. At least Ian thought so, having never dived himself. He would claim that he left such daredevil tricks to others, those more stupid and reckless than he himself. Truth to be told he had done more stupid and more daring things on his own. It was mostly that he did not particularly care for being hundreds of feet down in the water.

He just did not like that kind of things. He had admired how Ben actually jumped from the flight deck into the Hudson river. He himself would not have wanted to do it, not because the height and the fall, but because of the depth in the water.

Still knowing that Ben was a diver he had decided on that plan. Partially because he knew it would take them long to respond to it. Always do what no one believes you are crazy enough to do, that was the key to success in his profession. It was why it had always been so hard for them to get him, because he had always been crazier than they believed of him.

Now he was sitting on the plane and tried to sooth Ianna, she calmed fairly easy. It was not optimal to take such a young child onto a plane, and had there been any risk at all involved he would have refused to, but as it was it should not matter. Everyone had assured them that it was perfectly safe.

Since he had been awake the whole time in the car as well he took the opportunity to sleep now that he had it, and there was little else to do. It was a fairly long flight to England.

Charlotte woke him up when the air line meal was served. As is the standard on airline meals, it was small servings, not very good, and generally not something you enjoyed all that much. Those were the times when he was happy that he could choke down almost anything.

It was really quite useful and meant that he did not sit and frown over his tray as Riley did. They had been forced to spread out a little on the plane. Ben and Abigail sat next to each other, and Victor, Gregor and Phil sat in the other end, and Riley had wound up with him and Charlotte. Ian was not really sure why, he had thought that Riley would insist on sitting with Ben and Abigail. He had thought that Riley still feared him.

"How come you know so much about English history?" Riley regarded him carefully as he spoke, as if he was not certain of what Ian would do with him for asking.

"I was interested in history." Ian told him. "It should hardly be surprising, Ben is as well."

"Yeah, well. Ben has all that important family legacy." Riley waved it away. "What made you interested in it."

"I am English thought my family originally came from Scotland." Ian admitted. It was not something he had thought he would tell Riley about, but if he had the courage to ask, and did so in a decent way, then there was no reason that he could not answer. "Scottish families tend to be very conscious about their history, you know all about the clans and the rest of it."

"Scottish." Riley burst out. "Doesn't that mean you'd have to wear a skirt."

"If you mean kilt, I could do it if I wanted to." Ian admitted. "I am not a straight down descendant, but close enough to be allowed to wear the clan colours, but I must admit that I am not to fond of the idea of wearing a kilt."

"So you come from one of those big clans?" Riley sounded impressed.

Ian sighed and ran a hand through his hair, drawing it back. "During some odd marriages here and there I can be connected to one of the clans, yes. But keep in mind that far from all of them are all that big Riley. The McDuck's are all but extinct for one."

"What clan is that." Riley asked curiously.

"Uncle Scrooge." Ian stifled a yawn as he was still tired. "Donald Duck also belongs to it, though more distant."

Riley looked at him as if he had gone crazy, Charlotte tried to hide an amused chuckle. Ian was just to wonderful when he did those things. Who else would compare his own family to that of Donald Duck. She did not think that there were many more than Ian that did those things. He was rather special after all.

"But that's not a real family." Riley objected.

"It is a well done representation of how the clan system works though." Ian noted. "Uncle Scrooge is the clan member and bears the name, Donald Duck does not, and still he does only come one step further down. Seeing as how Uncle Scrooge's sister was his mother. I come even further down the line Riley."

"Don't you want to be part of it more?" For once Riley gazed upon him with open curiosity, and nothing more.

"Not for the moment no." Ian shook his head. "I am happy with the name Howe, I do not need another one. Not one that would be bloody inconvenient as well. Family names are not always good Riley, everyone has to live up to them, and every now and again there is someone who falls short."

"Did you?" Riley was amazed that Ian was telling him as much, and he wanted to know more, even if he was beginning to fear that his questions were going to far.

"No, not really." Ian gave him a small smile. "It is really not hard to live up to Howe. It is not a great family name. You see Riley, no matter what I did, I would never have dragged a whole line of generations down with me."

Ian was holding Ianna close in an unconscious gesture as he spoke. "I am sure that if my parents knew what I had become, they would have been both angry and disgusted by it, on the other hand they never told me what they wanted. They never told me of their expectations, and so, how can I really have fallen short of that?" It was teasingly asked, and still Charlotte could tell that Ian felt as if he had failed.

"Ben's father thought he was wasting his life looking for the treasure." Riley stated absently.

"Ben's father have a few good points." Ian admitted. He was a bit conscious of Ben's father, since he would guess that the man hated him. "It mostly have to do with our own points of view Riley. What is a waste of time to one is not to another. I spent a full summer looking for a treasure once, and I knew from the start that I would not be able to find it, but still I had a lot of fun, and so I do not think it was a waste of time."

"You looked for treasures before?" Riley asked baffled.

"Have not all boys at least ones." Ian chuckled. "I merely were a bit more throughout with it."

"What did you do?" Riley even leaned closer with a keen interest and Ian smiled. If nothing else came from this treasure hunt it seemed that Riley would understand him better after it.

"I arranged one or two treasure hunts as such during recess in school." He admitted. "Turned out that it was not appreciated that we dug up the lawn. Once I gathered a dozen others or so and we decided that if we just dug deep enough we would find something. So we dug a really deep and large hole."

"Where did you dig it?" Charlotte asked, stroking Ianna's cheek.

"A garden." Ian coughed behind his hand. "We actually asked if we were allowed to dig a hole first, we just apparently forgot to mention how big we had intended to make it."

Both Charlotte and Riley laughed.

"They made it into a fishpond." Ian shrugged. Then he leaned back into his seat and tried to sleep. He could certainly use some, that much was certain.

Riley turned to look out the window, and Charlotte dozed beside him. With a content sigh he closed his eyes, and he could not sleep because it felt as if he was being watched. He tried to shrug off the feeling so he opened his eyes and looked around himself.

There in the ail beside his seat was a young girl standing. He rubbed his eyes and looked at her. It should be a girl because her hair was cut to shoulder length. She wore a t-shirt and jeans and was holding a brown bear. He guessed that she was about four or five years old.

"Hello." Ian said carefully, a bit taken of guard by those blue eyes that was fixed on him.

"Hello." She beamed a smile up at him. "My name is Marie, what's yours?"

"Er, Ian." He watched as she was now holding on to the armrest of his chair. He was not all that used to children. He had dealt with the boy Riley had promised another dollar before leaving, but that was about all.

"Hello Ian." She beamed. "Where do you come from?"

"England." He said carefully.

"I come from Washington, but my mom comes from England, so now are we going back there. Do you like England?" She asked. "Mom says that it is really nice, but dad says that it is raining all the time."

"It rains a lot in England." Ian nodded.

"It is fun to play when it rains. I like to go out and play in the rain. It is so wet and fun and you can jump in puddles." She moved so that she stood more in front of him, than to the side. Beside him Charlotte chuckled.

Well, at least someone was amused by it then.

"How high can you make is splash when you jump in puddles?" She asked.

"I don't jump in puddles a lot." Ian admitted. He had done it a lot when he was younger, but it was years since the last time.

"I can make it splash this high." She held a hand to her chest, measuring how high she could make it splash.

"I think that I managed something like that the last time I jumped in puddles." Ian admitted. "Once I even made it splash all the way up over my head."

"Wow, that's really high." She was standing leaning against his thigh now, and she sounded quite impressed by it.

"It was a very deep puddle." He nodded. "And I had climbed up a bit before I jumped."

"I love to climb." She grinned. "I can climb really, really high. We have a very high tree, and I can climb all the way up to the top." She gave him a very proud grin.

"That's really high." Ian agreed. He wondered how high the tree would be, a little girl like that surely could not climb a very high tree.

"It's really, really fun." She exclaimed. "If I climb all the way to the top, then I can see over the house, because it is so far down."

Ian gave a start, any tree she climbed would have to be really high if she was in any way able to look out over a house. Even if it was a low house. How could such a little girl climb so high?

"Is that your baby?" She asked, and now her voice was softer.

"Yes, her name is Ianna." Ian shifted his daughter so that the young girl could see her.

"So, cute." She said with a soft sigh. "She's so very cute."

Ian noted amused that the girl nearly climbed his lap to get a better look at his daughter, this child certainly was not shy. He wondered if all children was like that.

The child was still looking at his baby daughter with such an amazed expression that Ian could not help but take pity on her. Using one hand he lifted her up to sit on the armrest of the chair so that she could look closer. She seemed quite happy to be perched there and Ian held Ianna so that she could see her.

The girl reached out a hand as if to stroke the baby's cheek, then she stopped. "Can I?" She asked gazing up at Ian.

"Yes." He gave his permission. He had never been interested in babies at that age, but he recalled how he had enjoyed to cuddle puppies, so he watched carefully less the girl would be to rough. He had not needed to worry, she was more gentle than he had thought such a small child could be. Giving the baby some advice in a really soft voice.

When Ianna was hungry and started screaming she giggled as Charlotte fed her, watching with a clear curiosity to see what was happening, and asking Charlotte questions about it. Ian found that part just a slight bit embarrassing, but Charlotte did not seem to mind at all.

Eventually the girl's mother came to collect her, and appeared very worried that her daughter would have been bothering them. Ian assured her that they had not been bothered, and even if he had not been able to sleep like he would have liked to, it was true.

He actually hoped that his daughter would be like that, open and curious. To think of all the things he had missed because he never just went up to someone and asked them. He had never done that. Oh, he had never been afraid to ask what he wanted to know. It was the way she just stepped up to someone who seemed interesting and started to talk that he had never done.

He watched as he went with her mother, and saw how the girl just hugged her, there on the plane. There was a lot of things he had missed. He had seen Ben with his father, and he could not help but feel that he had been left out. There had never been that open affection in his own family, he knew he was loved, that was enough.

He did not ask to be hugged, and no one gave him one, he had assumed that things were supposed to be that way. His parents never came to those evening school projects, and so he assumed that even if they loved him, they had no interest in what he was doing.

They were so caught up in their own lives that they left him to his own. Now, when he saw other families he felt cheated of that. He wondered how it would have felt to just suddenly get a hug from your mother, as good as when Charlotte embraced him? He did not know, he had no idea.

He vowed not to do the same with his daughter. To always be there, involved in her life. Yet what if that was wrong as well. He had just never had an example of good parenting. He could recall a nice old man, and then one man about the same age as his parents. He recalled how they one the same age as his parents had told them that they were doing things wrong with him. That they should pay more constant attention. He had thought that the man was stupid at the time. He certainly was not as fun as the other one, who talked with his parents about hidden treasures.

It was that old man who had set Ian thinking about treasures that first time. He had been really nice and funny, and Ian had told him that he would find the greatest treasure of all time. For a moment there he thought he would have been able to.

Now he was more inclined that the other one was right. If his parents had followed his advice, then maybe things would have been different.

A not to gentle tug on his hair in the neck pulled him from his thoughts with a rather painful speed. He put his hand protectively over the tender spot at his neck and glared at Charlotte.

"Stop thinking that way or you'll be hurting more." Was all Charlotte had to say.

There were times when Ian thought about cutting his hair shorter. She would not be able to get such a good grip on quite so much if he cut it shorter.

"And don't even think about it." She added. "If you cut your hair, then I will show you just how much pain I can induce to someone with short hair."

"You make me want to at times." Ian groaned. "Its not fair to yank my hair out, I was not doing anything."

"You were thinking along the lines of 'I am a failure' again." Charlotte informed her. "I have told you before that I will not allow you too. If I have to pull your hair to make you stop, then I will.

"I was not thinking that I have failed, I was afraid that I will fail." Ian moved his head to try and keep his locks clear of her fingers. He did not need her to pull his hair again, the spot still throbbed from the first pull.

"You wont Ian, you wont." Charlotte said softly. Get some sleep now, you have been awake the whole time."

"I had some nice company." Ian grinned. "But I never did any of the things that girl did. I don't want Ianna to grow up like I did. I want to be as amazed over what she has done in school as I was to hold her the first time. I want all of it to matter just as much to me, and I want her to know that it does."

"Ian. Look at her." Charlotte reached out and twirled a lock of his hair around her finger, soothing as she did it, and if he said something stupid, she was ready to give it a tug.

Ian looked down on the baby in his arms. She was sleeping, her head against his chest, and one tiny hand had curled around his thumb.

"She knows what she means to you." Charlotte told him. "Just look at her Ian, she loves you and she trusts you. They say that normally babies wants to be with their mother more than their fathers, but I think that she prefers you to me at times. You don't have to worry, now I'll take her for a moment and you'll sleep until we land."

It was an order, and he had learnt to obey her orders, especially since she was still twirling a lock of his hair around her finger. So he gave her Ianna and tried to sleep.

Charlotte woke him up before the 'please fasten seat belts, because we are going to land and it should not be a problem but in case it is we want everyone securely locked down so that we can get out first,' light started flashing. Really it was not because of that, but Ian who had found it a matter of science to unbuckle his seat belt after takeoff, thought that it surely was meant that way.

Charlotte insisted that it was just him who had gotten a tricky seat belt, and laughed as he developed a theory as to why they would have made that way on purpose. Next to the window Riley started looking slightly nervous.

"I am just kidding Riley." Ian smiled. "If things went wrong that often, people would simply stop flying, and they would not make any profit. They want the profit, and planes are expensive, so they will want to make sure that their planes stays in the air when they are supposed to."

"That is really comforting to hear." Riley noted with a nervous look out the window where he could now see the ground.

Ian shook his head. "Did you never read about the adventures of Biggles, Riley. I thought that all young boys read those books."

"I did not read books about flying." Riley frowned.

"If you had you would know that there is no danger to flying." Ian teased gently. "I think that Biggles and his men crashed quite a few planes, and yet they always pulled through."

"Well, characters in books does not tend to take all that much damage." Riley pointed out in that slightly superior tone he so often used.

"The author of those books was a war pilot." Ian grinned. "What he wrote about doing, he had seen done."

Riley was quiet for a moment, as if he was not sure of what to say. Ianna again began crying over the change of pressure, Riley whined about it and Charlotte made a face.

"Does it not bother you?" She asked Ian.

He shook his head. "Just pop your ears and equalise the pressure and its not a problem."

"But I have not seen you do that?" Charlotte gave him a peculiar look.

He shrugged. "When I was a kid I found some way of doing it by moving my jaw in some odd way. I thought it was fun, and apparently useful as well. I can do it whenever I want."

Charlotte grinned amused. "Before we go home again, you get to teach Ianna how to do that." She cuddled the baby girl who was now quieting down.

They left the plane and entered the airport, Ian walked over to a window holding Ianna so she would look out as well. Outside there was a light drizzle coming down. Not a heavy rain, but enough to make you wet if you went out in it.

"This is England." He said softly to his daughter, so quietly so that the others did not hear. "And the weather will never get much better than this. It's still a great place and I hope that you shall like it." Then he went back to where the others were standing.

"How do we go on now?" Ben asked as he came over.

"Ianna and I'll go over there and rent a car." Ian pointed at the other end of the airport. "We'll get a map as well, then we can drive there."

Ben nodded his agreement and Ian headed over to the car rent. It was he who had the credit card connected to the English account, and thus it was easier for him to arrange these details, and Ben was aware of it so he was content to remain behind.

Ian was able to get a large van much like the one they had used before. Actually this one was bigger.

"You can take up to sixteen passengers without needing any special drivers licence here." He explained to the others. "Makes it a bit easier if there are more of you then five."

Ben nodded, he did not think it was wise to let just anyone drive with that many in the car. Yet he guessed it was up to them. If they thought it worked, he supposed that it did. There was other things that he did not quite like with England more than that. England was a difficult country, he thought that the best thing that had ever come from England had to be James Bond.

A few moments discussion over the map about which road they should take and then they were off again. Ian taking a back seat this time so that he could catch just a few more hours of sleep. He could definitely use it. Once they got to the town they would take a room somewhere and rest at least over the night, but until then they would only make short stops to eat.

Charlotte would not feed Ianna while they were moving, and Ian agreed it did not seem right. Besides Charlotte had begun to feed her baby food from jars. Apparently Ianna was old enough for some of the more creamy stuff. Charlotte gave it to her as a desert when she had eaten. To get her used to more solid food or so she said.

Ian did not fully understand it, but it meant that for once he could sit and feed his daughter, and he loved being able to do that. To sit with her on his lap and give her spoonful by spoonful of that stuff. He did not think that it looked all that appetizing, but she seemed to love it.

Still he frowned over the label on the jar. "Charlotte, really. Peas and broccoli, could we not get her something that sounds a little more appetizing?"

"No." She shook her head. "I am taking the one chance I have to make her eat vegetables without all the fuss about it. Before she gets as bad as you."

Victor burst out laughing and Ian glared at him, that was when Ianna began tugging at the spoon with her tiny fist.

"See, she likes it." Charlotte grinned victoriously.

Ian shook his head ruefully. "You don't know what you are getting into." He told Ianna. "If you make the mistake of acting like you want it once, you shall have to suffer it for the rest of your life. Ouch." The last he added as Charlotte slapped the back of his head.

"Don't you dare give her ideas." Charlotte said sternly. "If she suddenly decides that she does not want that anymore, then you shall have to eat it."

Ian looked between his daughter and the baby food. "You had better eat up." He told Ianna, he did have some self preservation.

* * *

This is the end of this chapter, I shall update again in two weeks, and keep the updates up every second week, or sometimes every week, it depends on whatever the beta has done his work or not. 

I want to thank everyone who read my earlier National Treasure story, thank you, all of you.

I have now switched to the direct review response for all signed reviews.


	17. Chapter 17

Author's note: This is based on the movie National Treasure, and is to a great deal dedicated to the more than worthy performance of Sean Bean. I enjoyed the movie very much, but I thought that since Ben and Ian often used similar methods to reach the same goal, I did not see one of them as more evil than the other. I also thought that the hints of the friendship we saw between them should be explored more. I began doing that in 'Who Did You Say Stole the Declaration,' this story takes up a short time after that one ended, and is my version of what happened next. I hope you all shall like it.

Big thanks to LadyDeb1970 who have been going over this for me, and helped me with plot and story ideas. Also to Celebrion for being my beta.

Disclaimer: I do not own National Treasure. I just borrowed it because I like Sean Bean as an actor. I will return all characters in good and whole order, completely undamaged, if covered with a slight glue residue from having been put together again. I also swear I will not make any serious attempt at stealing Ian. More than I already have that is…

The name of Thomas McDowell have been stolen from LadyDeb1970, with her kind permission, as well as one or two other details.

/Elenhin

* * *

Chapter 17

Charlotte hid her grin behind her hand and gave Gregor a threatening look to warn him what would happen if he made fun of Ian for it. It was so endearing to see him like that. Keeping an actual conversation with Ianna. Ian did not talk baby talk, she had never heard him do it, instead he would keep a normal conversation with her.

"So, this is it." Ben noted as they entered the town. "This is where we find the next clue."

"Yeah." Ian nodded. "This is the town the mermaid hailed from."

"Where should we look for the clue then?" Riley asked. "I mean, even if we find the harbour, we would not know where to look. It has to be huge, and we have no idea."

"We know where to look Riley." Ian assured him. "It is all in the last clue."

"There was nothing in the clue about where to look." Ben stated. "Maybe there is a dock somewhere where the ship was built. We could try looking there."

"No Ben, not the dock." Ian did not shake his head, he was afraid he would wake Ianna if he did. She had just fallen asleep.

"First we get somewhere where we can sleep tonight." Abigail stated. She was very tiered, and she guessed that Charlotte was as well. "Then you can figure out where the clue is."

They headed to a rather old looking inn. The kind that had been made a bit more modern, but not all that much. There was electricity and hot water and everything, but the look of it remained the same. A solid stone building.

They ordered rooms, and the others chuckled when Charlotte had to dig out Ian's wallet out of his pocket. He was still holding Ianna, and at the moment she was to restless to allow him to shift his hold much without waking. She was waving her arms and kicking every now and again, and even if mostly was to avoid waking her, he was terrified that he might drop her if he changed his hold and she suddenly kicked.

She was strong for one so small, he was certain that he had a bruise or two from where she had kicked him in his chest in her sleep. If she grew stronger than she was now, he hoped that she would grow out of the habit of kicking as well.

Thought he rather suspected that she would not, at least not for some time.

Since it was about lunch time they decided to eat as well before continuing. It made more sense than not eating at lunch time.

"So." Ben stated as he cut his food. "Where do we begin looking."

"We know where." Ian said again. "The clue said 'over' as in 'above' we go to the bridge and see what we can find there. The bridge was rebuilt at one point to allow for the bigger ships to pass. The mermaid was the first one of the size to need it. Over the Mermaid will be the bridge over the river."

"You know Ian, you might actually be right about that." Ben admitted. "In some way it does make sense. It is a bridge."

"I told you it was in the clue." Ian said.

Ben was lost deep in though, pondering the possibilities, and Abigail noted how he did not really did Ian any credit for figuring it out.

"That was really well done Ian." She said. She had not thought of it, and neither had Ben, so he deserved some credit for it.

"It made sense." Ian said thoughtfully. "I think that was why they used it. They made a really big bride compared to what had been there before. They could not get a much better insurance that it would stand long enough. No one takes down a bridge like that for no reason whatsoever. It has been standing there for more than three hundred years now, and it shall most likely stand for just as long."

"Shall we go there now?" Ben asked once everyone seemed to be finished.

They headed down to the river and followed it down to the bridge. It was a very impressive old stone bridge. It was made of five spans that stretched across the river, the middle one was the highest one, the one that allowed the bigger ships to pass beneath it. The bridge arced over the water there in the middle of the stream. The stone railing transferred into pillars that rose into the shape of a hollow tower in the middle of the bridge.

It was an ornamental raising of the railing, but it also served a purpose. The tower was fashioned out of the pillars, and the pillars had iron rungs on them. In the old days young men were sometimes put to climb up and kept look out for certain ships.

"See up there." Ian pointed at the highest top. "That's where it will be. The Mermaid was a big ship, she could only pass through the middle span. So 'over' the Mermaid would be over the middle part, and the highest point would be logical, don't you think so Ben?" He grinned confidently.

"It could very well be that." Ben admitted with a nod.

"Lets find out then." Ian eyed the bridge eagerly. "Since they used that tower on it to keep look out for ships it will be very easy to climb. What do you say Ben?"

"We certainly will not find out by standing here." Ben agreed. It looked rather high for climbing something so slippery looking as those rungs. "We might as well climb up there and look around. Can you climb something like that?" He asked.

Ian laughed. "Ben, in my previous profession you did not get far if you could not get around the occasional odd entrance. I have been climbing up and down worse places than that since I was a kid. I think that I will manage."

"Criminals I can understand." Ben frowned as the two of them went out on the bridge, while the others waited a slight distance of. Charlotte stood holding Ianna, and she would not take her daughter where there was any danger. The rest of them kept close, because Ian was unlikely to be at risk, and so they concentrated on Charlotte and his daughter.

"But why did you climb things like that even before?" Ben went on.

Ian pulled his hair back with an amused smile. "On a dare mostly, to see what we could pull off and not in school. To win bets, you never made bets on dare devil stunts, Ben?"

Ben shook his head, he had always considering himself to smart for that.

"My favourite was getting up onto the roof of the main building, and jumping over the gap to the roof of the building where all the teachers had their offices. There was a window there that was really easy to open. I could get in all the way to where they worked and kept the tests and result. Everything, because the only door they thought they needed to lock was the front door. Five bucks, and I would tell the other kids what tests was coming up.

"You cheated for money?" Ben asked baffled as he stood beside the pillar.

"I helped others to cheat if they paid me for it." Ian nodded. "I did not cheat on tests for myself and for my own gain. I just stretched my allowance a bit. I could make up to fifty bucks a week at times if I were lucky."

"But its wrong." Ben shook his head.

"Its wrong." Ian agreed. "But it was also a game, if I were good enough. I could do all the right things and behave myself all the time, but where was the challenge in that, everyone did. I wanted to see if I could do the things I were the only one who could do. And while I was doing it, why not earn a few bucks if I could."

"Not everything is a game Ian." Ben said as he began climbing. They had each taken a side, and then closer to the middle the two sides approached each other. Close enough that one could reach the other.

"No?" Ian paused to look at him. He was faster than Ben and had already gotten higher than him. "They say that life is what you make it to Ben, I made mine into a game."

Ben shook his head. It was just wrong, he had never paid anyone to help him cheat in school before, and he was proud of it. He had gotten good grades, and he was proud over having gotten them honestly.

Ian began climbing again, and reached the top slightly before Ben. He really was skilled at it Ben had to admit.

"Look here." Ian pointed at one of the stones that had an imprint of a ship on it, it looked as if some bored youth had chiselled it out while he kept the look out. "That would be the Mermaid."

"So we need to get this stone lose then." Ben taped the stone.

"No Ben." Ian took a small chisel from the pocket in his jacket. "Over the Mermaid remember." He took the stone directly above the one with the ship and began working it lose.

Ben had to admit that it was preferable to using a tool like that one than to using his knife as he had done to work lose the mortar by the house of the Liberty Bell. Even if he had tried not to use the edge it had taken a nick or two in the blade.

Ian worked deftly and swiftly, not bothering about the fact that their position was not the most secure one. He appeared confident enough that he would not fall. Ben was willing to bet that he had been perched like this more than once before, working up windows and who knew what else he had been doing.

The stone came lose fairly easily into Ian's hand.

"There is nothing in here." Ben searched the hole with his hand. "You must be mistaken."

"No Ben, look here." Ian hooked his elbow through a rung in order to get both hands free. He held the stone in one hand and pointed to a seam that ran along its side. It took some coaxing to open the stone, it was fashioned so that the two halves held themselves together, but by using the chisel, and by having experience from similar things, Ian managed to part the stone.

In the space between them there had been carved out a space for a dagger. Ian took out the dagger and put it safely in his pocket. It was one of the reason why he preferred he sometimes more lose fitting garments. You could hide more in the pockets without anyone being able to see that you had anything at all there.

Then he fitted the two stone halves together again and slid the stone back into its hole.

He was not about to take the chance that anyone else saw what they had been up to. Now it looked no different than it had before. When they got down again, no one would be the wiser.

"Let me look at the dagger?" Ben asked.

"Shouldn't we wait until we have gotten down again." Ian pounded the stone with his fist to make sure if fit as it should. "It would be a shame if it fell into the river."

"We should at least make sure that there is nothing more up here that we need, before we get down." Ben reasoned.

It made enough sense to warrant taking it out again, so Ian handed him the dagger and Ben slid it out of its scabbard, passing the scabbard back to Ian. He studied the dagger while Ian put the scabbard in his pocket and closed it. He could hang upside down without the scabbard falling out if only the pocket was closed.

He was not about to risk losing it, for he had a feeling that all of it was just as important. He was also very conscious about the fact that should it or the dagger fall into the river, there would be no way of finding it again.

Both Phil and Ben was good enough divers to look for it, but with the current and everything, it would be impossible.

"Look here Ian, there is an inscription of symbols along the blade. Some sort of code, I need to study it more once we get back to the inn and work it out."

Ben made to climb down with the dagger, holding it in his hand while he climbed. Ian had thought that was to high a risk, and that was why he had the scabbard in his pocket. It just seemed to high a risk, and he was right. Ben did not have as good a grip on it as he thought he had, and when he accidentally struck the blade against a rung he lost his grip on it entirely.

Ian who was a few rungs down on the other side, but he had good reflexes, he had always had. It was evident on the Charlotte when he was able to catch the flare. This time the stakes were just as high. He saw the dagger fall and lounged out to catch it.

Ian managed to catch the dagger, but he lost his own balance while doing so. He instinctively tightened his grip on the dagger as he fell. He landed hard on the stone bridge and the impact knocked the breath out of his lungs. He gasped for breath as the others rushed over to him. While Ben continued to climb down, shocked.

Ben was unable to grasp that Ian had just fallen.

"Ian!" Charlotte shouted as she ran over to him, thrusting her daughter at Victor. She knelt beside him. "Ian."

Ian drew a ragged breath and coughed. He needed air into his lungs, but it hurt so much that he could barely draw another breath after the first one.

Yes, it hurt, it hurt everywhere. At first he had been stunned by the impact, but now the pain came.

"Are you alright?" Gregor asked him.

"Hurts like bloody hell." Ian groaned. He tried to push himself up from the ground, but could not support himself with his right arm, and as stunning and overwhelming as the pain raged when he tried he was not willing to try again. He fell back with a curse.

"Ian, are you hurt bad?" Charlotte asked him calmly, she was worried, but she was not one to panic when it was important that she did not. She could help Ian much more if she just stayed calm.

Victor was glaring at Ben who now stood with the others and regarded Ian worriedly. Victor since he was holding Ianna and could not do much more than that, but he was certain that if Shaw had still been alive, Ben would have been dead before he could get down. They were all protective of Ian, but Shaw had been outright vindictive.

He would always step in between Ian and danger, no matter what. Even the odd time when one bastard had pointed a gun at Ian, Shaw had stepped into the way. That time Ian had been defenceless himself. If anyone ever hurt Ian, intentionally or not, Shaw would go after them and kill him.

The others would have killed Ben if he had pushed Ian so that he fell, Shaw just saw that Ian had been hurt, and would see Ben as responsible. Granted that he might not kill Ben outright, but the least he would have done would have been sending Ben sailing over the railing. Preferable at the shallows.

"I think its just my arm." Ian groaned. That was the part of his body that was most wrecked with pain.

Charlotte pressed her hands on the rest of his body, feeling his legs, midsection and other arm to see if there was any other injury. "Tell me if it hurts anywhere else Ian." She instructed him softly. If she pressed down, Ian would feel if it hurt more there. Otherwise he might be injured but not feeling it because the pain in his arm was drowning it out.

"Not bad anywhere else." Ian groaned and cradled his arm close as Gregor helped him to sit up. He then set panging and protecting his right arm with his left, his back supported by Gregor who remained behind him.

"I hope that they have a hospital here." Charlotte stated. "You need to get to a hospital, right now Ian." She was however still working out how they should move him there. She did not want to distress him, but they also needed to be very careful of his arm.

"Here Charlotte, use this as a sling." Abigail had come over and held out a scarf to her.

"Thank you." Charlotte smiled at her. A sling would help Ian until they could get him to a hospital, and he needed to get there. His hand and arm was already swelling up badly. The sling would stabilise his arm enough that they could walk though. They had left the car and walked. She did not want to upset him by looking for a taxi or send someone after the car. It would only agitate him, and it was actually better to let him walk slowly.

Ian was still cradling his right arm to his chest with the left, both to protect it and in a vain hope to quench the pain.

"Ian, let me fix this into place." She freed the dagger from his spasmodic grip and passed it to Victor. Ben did not even think about asking if he could have it so that he could study it. He was to worried about Ian. He felt guilty over his fall.

Ian gritted his teeth while Charlotte tied the sling into place. Gregor then helped him to his feet, as gently as possible, helping him to support his weight. Ian cursed as it still jarred his arm, then they moved out all of them. Charlotte steadying Ian with a protective hand under his left arm.

"Victor." Charlotte said. "Go ahead and find out where there is a hospital."

"Right." Victor nodded and hurried of. He was efficient as always and had soon gotten directions on the fastest way to get there. It was a rather large hospital and Ian was soon taken care of. Charlotte again left Ianna with Victor and followed Ian as the doctors took care of him.

"What happened?" Abigail asked when the rest of them were all seated in the waiting room.

"I accidentally dropped the dagger." Ben said in a flat voice. "Ian caught it and fell, I… I never meant for him to get hurt."

Abigail nodded thoughtfully. "I know you never did. Poor Ian though, it must hurt so very badly. I have never seen him like that before."

Ben had to agree, Ian had been unusually subdued. He had allowed Charlotte and Gregor to simply lead him along. Not really bothering about where they were going. He just trusted their word that they would take care of him.

For the moment Ian's men kept slightly to themselves, they did not think that Ben had done it intentional. They had been together to long in a to dangerous profession to think like that, misfortunes happened, and it was not because someone wanted someone else to get hurt.

No one of them had ever been badly hurt in any way, but there had often been smaller cuts and scraps, and no one ever blamed someone else for it. Those were just things that happened at times.

So they did not think it was Bens intent just because Ian had suffered the bad luck to get hurt, but they were also a little bit upset by it. Ian had suffered in a different way because of Ben earlier, the fact that he now suffered an injury made them slightly more apprehensive of Ben.

Charlotte had been the only one allowed to go with Ian, and so the others were now watching over Ianna. Victor still had her and was bouncing her on his knee and amusing her in different ways. Ianna was well used to being taken cared of by the honorary uncles that had given her nickname. She liked all of them very much. After some time thought she began to whine.

"What is wrong with her?" Abigail asked concerned.

Victor sniffed the air with a small smile. "She needs to be changed." He noted.

"Shall I take her?" Abigail asked. There were a bag with diapers, some baby food and a toy or two that they always carried along, necessaries when you had a small baby with you. Abigail might never have changed a diaper before in her life, but she suspected that the men were not even willing to try.

"I'll go and change her." Victor took her in his arms and picked up the bag as he walked away to take care of her.

Ben looked surprised to see a hardened criminal go to change diapers on a child, but most of Ian's men had wound up doing it once or twice since the baby came along, and none of them really minded it that much. She was Ian's daughter, and they would care for her and protect her in every way. Even if it meant changing diapers.

Besides, it was not such a horrible task as some made it out to be. So why should they fuss about it.

It was some time before Ian and Charlotte returned, and Victor also feed Ianna from the bottle that was in the baby's bag. Abigail thought that it was a rather sweet image the way he held her and helped her to drink from the bottle. She would wave her hands and grip at the bottle occasionally. Yet she never stopped to drink. Not until she had had her fill.

Then Ian and Charlotte returned again. Ian with his right arm enclosed in cast up to above his elbow, and supported by a sling. He was pale and had an ugly bruise that covered his left cheek and jawbone, he also carried himself stiffly as if he was in pain. Considering the fall it would be most surprising if he was not sore all over. Most likely he was covered with bruises just as colourful and painful as the one on his face.

His men were on their feet and had surrounded him immediately, not crowding in to much, but checking how he was doing. Charlotte took Ianna back from Victor and held her close.

"Are you gonna be alright?" Gregor asked Ian.

"Yes." Ian told him with a small smile. "Hardest thing was convincing them that we were not on some lunatic treasure hunt. Charlotte told them that I was an al thumbs guy who can't see a ladder without falling of off it."

"Best no one knows what we were doing, sure enough." Gregor agreed. "Long as you'll be all right."

"Don't worry." Ian rubbed a tiered hand over his face and winced as he touched the bruise. "Just need some rest and then we can continue."

"Ian, I am really sorry." Ben moved over, and he felt quite a bit guilty about what had happened to Ian.

"Least we did not lose the clue." Ian felt mostly tiered and weary for the moment. He knew that Ben had not meant for him to fall, but he was tiered and aching all over, and his arm throbbed whenever he moved. He wanted to be allowed to sleep some. Leave the studying of the clue to Ben, getting held by Charlotte for a bit. That was what he wanted. They had given him some pain suppressing stuff, but for the moment it only seemed to make him drowsy, and groggy.

"Ian, I was not careful enough. I'm really sorry." Ben went on. "I did not want you to get hurt Ian, I really did not. I'm so sorry."

Ian nodded. "I know Ben." He moved over to where Charlotte stood holding their daughter. "Can we please get away from here now?" He near pleaded.

"Of course Ian." She smiled encouragingly at him. She knew how drowsy and confused he felt, it was rather obvious from his behaviour. "We'll go back to the inn and then you can rest some." She hoisted her daughter on her arm, and slid her other hand in under Ian's left arm to support him.

The men moved in around Ian protectively.

They had taken rooms at one of the local inns as they were certain that they would stay at least one night. Charlotte would however insist on a little longer now.

In the inn Charlotte gave Ianna over to Phil to carry up the stair while she steadied Ian.

"Are you sure you're all right." Phil asked as he bounced Ianna on his arm.

Ian nodded. "I am just tiered and aching." He sank down on the bed and kicked of his shoes. Then he stopped as he was about to pull of his sweeter. How was he to get it off, using only one hand, and not really being able to move the other hand at all. He cursed quietly.

"I'll give you a hand Ian." Charlotte gave him a warm smile. She had soft and gentle hands, but he still groaned when his arm was jarred.

Victor again thought that Ben was lucky that Shaw was no longer alive. If Shaw had seen Ian struggle so with a sweeter, or seen that Charlotte had to unbutton his trousers for him and all but pull them of him, Shaw would have been furious.

He was not to happy about it himself. Oh, he knew that it had not been Ben's intent to hurt Ian, but it was still his carelessness that had gotten Ian hurt. What made him the most angry was not that Ben had been careless and Ian had gotten his arm broken, it was that Ian had been hurt by Ben, again.

When they had seen Ian the first time after having been apart for some time Ian had been different, subdued and brow beaten. He had been put down from so many for so long time that Ian was putting himself down. He had all but decided that everything bad that had happened during the treasure hunt had been his fault, and he had told the others that they should keep away from him for their own safety.

That was not the Ian they all remembered, that was not the Ian that had been their leader, that had been a man that doubted himself, and all of them had been tempted to go after Ben because of it.

Then Ian had discovered that first clue, and unable to resist his natural curiosity he had figured it out. That was when Charlotte had told him a few choice words, basically you are going after the treasure now, when he stalled. He had been doubtful if he dared to go after it, and she had gone to the others and brought them to him. Ian had gotten a new resolve then, that he could find the treasure, that he could do what he had failed before.

Ian blamed himself for having lost Shaw, and it made him afraid of trying, but they had told him that the only way he could fail Shaw was by not trying to find the treasure, and so Ian had once more lead them onto the hunt.

It had been like old times again, except no one of them had ever known Ian before he met Shaw. It meant that they had to step in and do what Shaw would do at times. Not replace Shaw, but Ian needed someone to watch over him, for he did not see the risks to his own person.

Ian stretched out tiredly on the bed and groaned as he could not really get comfortable. The cast was both heavy and in the way, and if he moved his arm it throbbed. He groaned again and shifted. Charlotte motioned to Victor and Phil to slip out. She wanted to make sure that Ian was able to fall asleep.

When the two of them were alone she stretched out on his left side, careful not to jar him, but he still clenched his teeth together as the bed shifted. Noticing that the cast was making it difficult for him she took a pillow and laid it so that his arm could rest against it. Lessening the weight from the cast and thus making it easier for him.

"Let Ben see if he can figure out the clue." Ian muttered as the drowsiness slowly took over and he was falling asleep.

Once he was asleep Charlotte went downstairs again. The other three sat together and was occupying themselves with the baby. Every once in a while one of them cast a glance towards Ben. A look that wavered between anger and accusation.

She gave them a reassuring smile, and then took Ianna who was crying because she was hungry again. She did not really think that Ben deserved the angry glares, but on the other hand it was he who had been clumsy, and as much as Ian had suffered for it, she was not about to tell them to stop it.

"You might as well see if you can figure out the inscription." She nodded to Ben. "Ian needs to rest for sometime."

"How is he doing?" Abigail asked concerned.

"About as well as can be expected." She shrugged, not really up to being to pleasant about it. At least not to Abigail and Ben. Riley was sitting there between the two of them and looked really nervous. As if he feared that they would be angry at him.

Charlotte thought that it was strange in a way since he had not done anything at all, but then again Riley was of a nervous nature, and often thought he would be blamed for everything. She made herself give him a small smile. Riley had behaved himself better than expected the whole time. He had not distracted them with his wining for once.

Ben took the dagger with an apologetic look and set down with a note pad, trying to figure out what the inscription meant. It was not easy, he could not seen any obvious pattern to the symbols.

He kept working on it, but his thoughts kept wandering of to the moment when the dagger slipped out of his hand and he saw Ian lounge after it. The moment when he saw Ian fall, and saw him land. He was lucky to have escaped it with no worse injuries than he had. A fall from such a height could have killed him. It could also easily have crippled him, and what would have happened then.

In some ways he thought it was remarkable that no one of Ian's men had taken him to task about it yet.


	18. Chapter 18

Author's note: This is based on the movie National Treasure, and is to a great deal dedicated to the more than worthy performance of Sean Bean. I enjoyed the movie very much, but I thought that since Ben and Ian often used similar methods to reach the same goal, I did not see one of them as more evil than the other. I also thought that the hints of the friendship we saw between them should be explored more. I began doing that in 'Who Did You Say Stole the Declaration,' this story takes up a short time after that one ended, and is my version of what happened next. I hope you all shall like it.

Big thanks to LadyDeb1970 who have been going over this for me, and helped me with plot and story ideas. Also to Celebrion for being my beta.

Disclaimer: I do not own National Treasure. I just borrowed it because I like Sean Bean as an actor. I will return all characters in good and whole order, completely undamaged, if covered with a slight glue residue from having been put together again. I also swear I will not make any serious attempt at stealing Ian. More than I already have that is…

The name of Thomas McDowell have been stolen from LadyDeb1970, with her kind permission, as well as one or two other details.

/Elenhin

* * *

Chapter 18

Ian cursed in the morning as he tried to dress. How he was supposed to manage until his arm healed he had no idea. He could get his trousers on, even if it pulled painfully at his arm, and with some more cursing he could even get the zipper up, but the button would not yield.

The sweeter was even worse. He could get it on by himself, but how it hurt. He had to use his left hand to pull it over the cast inch by inch, then over his head, and finally try to work his left arm in.

Charlotte stood beside him, ready to help but allowing him to try and work the things out for himself. She helped him with the button on his trousers and had to tie his shoe laces for him. He supposed that even if he managed to work out the button, it would be some time before he could tie his own shoes again.

Charlotte kissed the nape of his neck as they made to go downstairs. "We'll get you some clothes that is easier." She said softly to him. "It'll be fine Ian."

"I hurts whenever I move." Ian groaned. "I know that it could have been worse, a lot worse, but I find it rather hard to be grateful for it right now."

"I understand." She soothed him. "It was bad luck Ian, and I do not find it surprising at all that you are upset by it. I feel so sorry for you."

Ian shrugged and decided that it was a bad idea as it tugged at his arm. "I have taken a blow or so before. Not like this, but it is not the pain that is bothering me. It is being so damned hindered by it whenever I try to do anything at all." He pondered it for a moment. "I feel exposed and vulnerable and I hate it. If there was any trouble I could not even protect myself, not to mention you and Ianna. It makes me feel bloody useless."

Charlotte moved over and embraced him. "You are not Ian, and the others will not allow you to come to any harm. You know that. We look out for each other, all of us. Now come down and eat breakfast."

The inn served breakfast as a buffet table. Charlotte made Ian go and sit down at the table while she went and filled a plate for him. It was a typical English breakfast and she supposed that it would make him feel better. Even if he had lived most of his life in the United States, Ian was still English more than anything else. It was clear in his accent, and it was clear in his behaviour. He was just typical English.

"How is he doing?" Gregor mumbled quietly behind her. He had noted how Ian still moved very stiffly, and how he winced every now and again as some movement pulled on either his arm or some hidden bruise. The one on his face was still as colourful as the day before.

"He is in a bit of pain, but mostly it is him hating to feel like a lesser man." Charlotte had to smile a little. It was so typical of Ian and his wish to take care of everyone. He was really bothered by the fact that he was now the one who needed to be taken cared of, and was fidgeting as he waited at the table.

"He'll be going crazy with it within a week." Gregor predicted. "We'll deal with it then. We know what to do with him. Shaw worked it out, what to do when he would not take care of himself."

"What did he do?" Charlotte asked as she spread strawberry jam on a few halves of bread buns for Ian.

"Didn't give him a choice." Gregor gave an amused smile as he reached for some cheese. "Just over powered him and would not relent until Ian gave in."

"Ian is stubborn, really stubborn." Charlotte frowned.

Gregor could not help but chuckled. "Yeah, he is." He agreed. "But Shaw could be worse. If it was about Ian, than no one could be more stubborn than Shaw. He forced him down once, and held him down until he gave in, he just would not let him go until he had given in."

"I don't think that I could do that." Charlotte compared her physical strength to Ian's and decided that she most likely did not stand a chance against him. He was just to much stronger than him.

"But we can." Gregor grinned. "Should make him realize that nothing's really changed either. That we are all the same as before." He kept grinning as they went back to the table with their plates. Charlotte sitting to Ian's left, and Victor protectively taking the chair on his right side.

Ben, Abigail and Riley came in and Phil cast a half glare in the direction of Ben. Ian did not notice, he was trying to figure out how to eat his food easiest. Scrambled eggs and bread he could manage. Tea he could drink if he could just transfer the hot water into tea. The bacon was the most difficult as it both tried to refuse his fork, and was really to big stripes. He guessed that good table manners were out of question at the moment. He was lucky if he did not spill all over himself as he was not used to handle the fork with only his left hand.

He tried to bite back on a curse as the egg slid of his fork back to the plate, great all he needed now, food that was in the mood for escaping.

"Don't worry about it." Charlotte whispered softly to him. "You are doing fine Ian."

He glared at the offending eggs and had to agree that she was right. He had about the same table manners as a three year old or so it felt. Yet since the sling was very visible it was more than unlikely that anyone would feel it was a disgrace that some of the grease from the bacon dribbled down his chin. He wiped it away with his napkin and no one was the wiser. The thing was that it was more than unlikely that anyone would pay him any closer attention unless he made them take note of him.

That was with the expectance of the present company of course, since everyone was glancing at him every now and again to see how he was doing. It was a bit annoying, but most of them did it from the best intents. It was only Ben who also had that guilty expression on his face, as if he wanted Ian to reassure him that it had not been his fault.

"Oh." Charlotte suddenly said as she was looking at Ianna in her lap. "Who changed diaper on Ianna yesterday."

"Er, I did." Victor admitted carefully.

Charlotte grinned at him. "I just wondered why the diaper was on backwards, that's all."

"Oh." Victor looked a bit embarrassed. "I guess I got it wrong. They are tricky." He defended himself when the others chuckled at him. Of curse it made all of them laughing, even Ian laughed so hard that his arm throbbed.

"Don't worry about." Charlotte smiled at him. "I was just amused by it. I thought you knew which was back and front on them by now."

"They look the same." Victor claimed.

"I'll just let you do the diaper changing until you learn." Charlotte teased him.

"Kid will have grown out of diapers before he learns." Gregor teased.

"I can think of worse things." Victor grinned. He had already decided that he and the other two would be taking over much of those chores now, leaving Charlotte more free to take care of Ian. He had a feeling that he would prefer her helping him with some things than if they did it. She was able to cut his bacon more subtle than they could do it.

Once he had eaten Ian actually felt better. He pondered getting another cup of tea, but he was not sure if he would be able to pour the hot water, and he did not really care for the idea of asking one of the others for help.

"I'm gonna get another cup." Phil said as he stood and took his cup. "Anyone else wants one?" He had seen Ian fingering his cup and glancing over to the hot water kettle, and he could be subtle when he wanted to.

"Sure, why not." Ian gave him a grateful look. He had not known how discrete Phil could be. He even fixed the tea for Ian without being obvious about it. Ian was really grateful for that. It made him feel less exposed about it when Phil just casually set the mug before him.

That was really the worst part this far, feeling so exposed.

* * *

They had moved outside to discuss what they would do next, because it was a really nice weather. Charlotte had taken a blanket from the car and spread out on the ground. She had placed Ianna to play on it. She was tugging on a soft toy, she seemed to be amused by waving it around.

It was the bear with the stretchable string, she really seemed to like that one. Ian had bought it because she seemed to love tugging at things. It had been a vain hope that she would prefer it to his hair, no such luck. He was stretched out on the blanket beside her, still feeling tiered and weary, and she had just discovered that she could reach a fistful of his locks. Oddly enough it made him feel better, even as she pulled a few strands lose. It was comforting that she was still doing that just as she had before.

"Ianna, that's really not very nice." Charlotte said hiding a smile as she gently tried to discourage her daughter from Ian's hair. Thinking that he was in enough pain already. Ianna laughed happily and started waving her toy around herself instead. Ian who had stretched out beside her received a smack in the face by a bear.

"Ouch." He winced. "I actually prefer it when you pull my hair." He tried to shift around to face Ben, but his arm would not allow it and he was forced to pull himself up to sitting before he could do it. "Did you have any luck with the dagger?" He asked.

"No." Ben shook his head. "Not yet. I am trying to crack the code but it is a really difficult one."

"I do not even recall how it looked." Ian admitted. He had only gotten a brief look at it while Ben held it, and he could not recall any details about it at all.

"Here." Ben passed it to it. "I do not think that it was ever meant to be used, because the edge is blunt." He said as Ian took it with his left hand.

Ian studied the blade carefully, laying it in his lap and feeling the edge carefully with his finger tip. "It have been sharp once." He noted. "Long since, but it have been used."

"How can you tell?" Ben wanted to know, leaning closer.

"It have scratches that looks like they have been made with a honing stone." Ian stated. "The edge is worn down, but it have been used. There are dents and chinks along the edge of the blade, some of them have been honed away, but you can still see them. It have been used, I am guessing that it was deemed to old for further sharpening and replaced with a new one. Then it was made into a clue because it fitted the purpose."

"We still need to crack the code to see what it means." Ben noted.

Ian smiled softly. "I recognize it, it's one that the Knights Templar used."

"How can you be so sure of that?" Riley asked. "I thought that they were supposed to be both top secret and impossible to guess."

"There is nothing like impossible." Ian grinned. "Thought I was lucky, I ran across the key to it once."

"You have the key to the Templar Knights secret code?" Ben asked. "Ian, have you had that all the time and not told us?"

"We had little need for the key before." Ian said slowly, his eyes meeting Bens gaze, but he his tone was defendant, and unconsciously he cradled his arm closer as if he felt exposed." "Besides I can not guarantee that it is the correct version, but it should be enough for us to base it on."

"Still Ian, why did you not tell me?" Ben asked shaking his head.

"Because it did not seem important before, and because I did not think you would see my source as reliable." Ian said and Abigail thought that the hurt in his voice had nothing to do with the arm he cradled close.

"Reliable I have no doubt, it's the legality I sometimes doubt." Ben said carefully.

"This time, it's perfectly legal." Ian said in a hard voice. Yet the knuckles on his free hand whitened as he clenched his fist together, and the others glared at Ben.

"Ian, I did not mean it that way." Ben hurried to say. "I'm really sorry."

"You still doubt me Ben. You still do not trust me. I can understand that, you have every reason not to trust me." Ian stood up. "But why do you continue to say that you do, when you so clearly do not." He turned around and walked away from them.

Abigail would have thought that the others would have pounced on Ben the first thing, but they did not, presumably because they were to intent on Ian. Phil and Gregor taking off the same instant, Charlotte only pausing to take up Ianna from the blanket.

"Haven't you hurt him enough?" Victor hissed at Ben.

"I'm really sorry, I did not think." Ben managed. "I did not mean to say it, and I really did not mean for him to fall. I'm really sorry."

"That's not what I meant." Victor glared at him. "You'd better not hurt him ever again." Then he to stalked away.

"It really was the wrong thing to say." Abigail stated. "He's still upset, though I guess you are as well or you would not have said something like that."

"I did not mean it like that." Ben said shaking his head. "I wanted to be able to joke with him, I really did not mean to accuse him of anything."

"I think that you sometimes make Ian very conscious about how he was once a criminal." Abigail said thoughtfully. "He tried to change, even before he met us, I must give him the credit of that. He tried, and when he is around you it must be weighting down on him both that he failed, and how everyone has been thinking him worse than he is lately."

"I shouldn't have tried to joke about something like that." Ben agreed wistfully. "I guess I wanted to be able to joke with him like the others do."

"Ian thinks that you do not trust him." Riley blurted out. "I thought that he would never care about those things. I mean what others thought about him."

"He do care." Abigail said softly. "Ben, you have to apologize to him, you really have to."

Ben nodded. He would, he would try to explain to Ian why he had said something like that. He was also thinking about what Victor had said, he would have thought that Victor would have killed him, but he had not. It was what Victor had said that had made him think. 'Haven't you hurt him enough?" He had hurt Ian, he really had. Ian was walking around with his arm in a sling now because of him, and yet, 'that's not what I mean.' If that was not what Victor meant, then what did he mean. In what other way had he hurt Ian.

He had hurt him when he was so ignorant about what had been happening. When he had not seen how he was treated, and had not seen how close to breaking Ian was by it. That had to be what Victor was talking about. He certainly could not think about what else he could have meant. There was another thing, he could not try and cover it by saying that Ian had hurt them before. Because they had not suffered anything from Ian that he had not suffered from him afterwards. He had been no better than Ian, and there was no excuse for it.

* * *

Ian was standing leaning against an old well in the garden of the inn. The well had been covered up, the lid was held in place by a pad lock. He thought it was a shame that they were always doing that. All the old nice wells were covered up as if they thought it was dangerous to have them.

An ordinary lid should make sure that no children fell in, and they had been perfectly safe before, why would they not be so now.

Solitude was not really what he wanted, and it was a good thing because the others had spread out around him.

"Not sure I have the right to be so touchy about it." He said softly. "We all knew what we were doing."

"It does not give him the right to be such a jerk about it." Charlotte flared. "Don't defend him Ian. I was minded to bust him."

"Sounds like a good idea to me." Gregor growled. "Ian, he does not have any right to talk to you like that."

"We did a lot of things that we did not have any right to do." Ian shook his head. "I shouldn't let it get to me."

"It was a stupid thing to say. But I really don't think he knew how." Victor shrugged. "He seemed sorry enough for it, so I just told him never to do it again."

"Victor what did you say to him?" Ian asked seeming agitated.

"I just told him he had better not hurt you again, ever." Victor shrugged. "Relax, I did not threaten him whit what I would do to him if he should. I just told him that he had better not."

"I wish you hadn't." Ian shook his head. "He must have thought we were threatening him."

"We are not going to stand for him hurting you again." Phil said sternly. "If he can not be civil, then he can pack up and leave, and we go on without him."

"No." Ian still sounded agitated. "I need to do it right this time."

"We will do it right." Gregor stated firmly. "But you can't expect us not to be angry with him. We took it easy, though." He grinned teasingly. "He's still alive."

They were attuned to each other, Ian could see that it was a joke even if he was upset. He could take the joke for what it was and laugh at it. That was what had not worked with Ben's joke, they were not enough attuned to one another for the joke to be taken as a joke.

"I need to settle this with Ben." He sighed.

Gregor reached out his hand and took a light and gentle hold of his left arm, he was more careful now than he usually bothered to be. "It was not you this time Ian, it was him. If he can not accept you, then it is time we split up. We do not care if that means allowing him to go after the damned treasure, packing up and going home. We do not care about that, but if he can not accept you, then we will not stand for it."

Ian nodded. "I know, but if I can settle it with him, it will be better for everyone. We did some pretty bad things ourselves." He was however very grateful for the support. How they outright said that they did not care about the treasure. Ian made sure that Gregor could see that as he left to find Ben.

The other three were still where they had left them. Ben looking up and swallowing as he came over. Riley standing there and looking as if he wanted to bolt. Abigail coming closer to meet Ian halfway there.

"Are you okay?" She asked quietly.

Ian nodded, he could not express how much that meant to him to hear just then. Not just because it meant that she cared, but also because it meant that she to thought things could be made right.

"I think I need to sort some things out with Ben." He told her just as quietly.

"Do you want me to be here or not?" She eyed him over, Ian looked weary, he obviously needed a lot more rest at the moment. He most likely could benefit from laying down a few hours.

"I am not sure, I thought I should talk with him, but I am not sure." He was starting to feel agitated again. He used to have a better control over himself and his emotions, why did he not anymore. Some of it might be that pain suppressing stuff that Charlotte had made him take. He was not very fond of that sort of drugs, but he had to admit that it had done some good.

"Ben spoke without thinking before." Abigail told him gently. "He is sorry for it Ian."

"I am sorry as well." Ian made a brave attempt at a smile. "For the mess I made."

"That is over Ian, and it should not affect things now, talk to Ben. I am sure that things will work out. I'll drag Riley away so that the two of you can talk in peace."

Ian watched as Abigail dragged Riley away, not that Riley objected, he did have some tact when he wanted.

"I am so sorry." Ben said as Ian came over. "I did not mean to make it sound like that Ian, I was trying to make a joke or something."

"One thing Ben, we both know what it means that I was a criminal, we both know, and we should both be mature enough to handle it." He took a deep breath. "I do not mind you mentioning it or speaking about it. I made the choices, and I do not try to escape the consequences of it. But it can not be something for you to drag up every time you think that I should have done something differently. I can not know what we will need in advance, I know a lot of things that we might need later that I have not told. Because I do not know what we will need. If you are going to question my honesty about it every step of the way, it will not work." He eyed Ben carefully, waiting for him to make the next move.

"I really did not mean to do it this time." Ben said slowly and carefully. "I guess that I am still edgy about yesterday. I feel so bad about that Ian, I really, really did not mean for you to get hurt."

"Those things happen, I know better than to blame anyone." Ian stated. "I know that you did not mean it, and at least we did not lose the clue. I got away fairly easy. But we need to agree on one thing Ben. I have done many illegal things, I gave them up, and yes, I am aware that I fell back into it. But I did nothing more then than you did yourself, and I have given that business up. Can we agree that you can trust me, that is what I want to know?"

"I trust you Ian, I trust you completely. At the moment I think that I am the one who can not be trusted." Ben looked truly ruefully.

"Do you understand now what I meant about making mistakes, and things you are not proud off?" Ian asked, hoping that Ben would finally understand.

"I think so." Ben nodded. "I certainly was not proud over myself a moment ago. I really am sorry Ian."

"Are we agreed then that you made your mistakes and I did mine?" Ian asked him.

Ben nodded.

"Lets see if we can work out the next clue then." Ian suggested. "As I said I have a version of the key, there is not guarantee that it is one hundred percent correct, but I think that it will at least be enough for us to go by."

"Where do you have it?" Ben asked, this time he would not say something stupid.

"On the computer." Ian told him. "Lets go inside and see what we can figure out."

They went inside and Ian allowed Ben to hook the laptop to the power outlet, then he discovered just how hard it is to work a computer with just one hand. Yet Ben did not know where to find anything on the hard drive, and so it was easier to do it himself. He pulled up a few documents that was mostly scans.

"Donald Duck?" Ben frowned as the front of a magazine came up on the screen.

"I told you that you might not think my source to reliable." Ian grinned sheepishly. "I also told you that it was an issue about the Knights of the Templar, and as their information seems correct, I have no reason to doubt that this will be." He used the space key again to shift forward, he had simply scanned of the pages of the issue.

There probably was some copy right or another stating that that was illegal, but Ian could not say that he cared all that much.

They took the dagger and compared the symbols to the ones on the screen. Ben wrote down the different combinations on a notepad. Ian came to the realisation that since he was right handed it would most likely not be legible if he were to do it. His hand writing was not the neatest to start with, and if he wrote with his left hand it was even worse.

It took them a few tries, because not all of the letters matched the symbols, but Ian had been right. It was close enough to allow them to base it on the key.

"Many times it shall be told." Ben read out loud as they were finished. "All that glitters is not gold. Many man in vain his life has sold. When he could have had a greater treasure to behold."

"An interesting clue for a treasure hunt." Ian noted.

"They might be talking about gems and diamonds." Ben shrugged. "They are worth more than gold. Or it is speaking of the historical value."

"I get the feeling that there is more to it than that." Ian frowned.

"Lets let the others know that we have at least figured it out." Ben stated.

Ian nodded and shut down the laptop. He intended to get back to it and continue his search for the last clue later, but it was an old habit of never leaving a computer connected like that. He had a password on it, and he did not want anyone to just be able to open the lid because he had forgotten to shut it off.

Charlotte knew the password, as did Victor, Gregor and Phil. He trusted them, and they could do things for him if they knew it, but there was no point in having a password if everyone knew it.

* * *

There was also something that was nagging at him with both that last clue and the previous one. He thought he recognized that part about the complete history from somewhere, and he had a feeling that it had to do with some book of some kind. He just could not recall what. At the moment he was running searches on all literate works to try and find anything with that title, this far he had not found it. Yet if he was right it would be a very old book, and it could be very difficult to find those.

They told the others about the new clue, thought they did not know what to make of it yet.

"You two will figure it out." Abigail said confidently.

"Certainly, now come with me for a bit Ian." Charlotte smiled at him. "You three won't mind watching Ianna for a bit will you?" She made it sound like a question, but at the same time as she said it she also handed Ianna over to Gregor.

"Of course not." Gregor bounced Ianna on his arm. "Nothing we would like better." He grinned.

Ian made a second take on it, Gregor standing there and gazing at the tiny face. Ianna was still so very tiny, and Gregor stood cradling her as if she was made of spun glass. Something about that image nagged on his mind, just as the other clues were, and he could not help but feel that they were somehow connected to each other.

"Where are we going?" He asked Charlotte as they had left the inn.

"We are gonna try to find you some clothes that wont be as painful for you to get on." She smiled softly and reached up to peck a kiss on his cheek. "I thought you would prefer if we did it discreetly."

"I most definitely do." He admitted. "I do not know what is worse. That it hurts whenever I try to do something, or that I feel so bloody stupid when I can't do anything."

"No one thinks that you are stupid." She told him softly. "It has to be very hard. But if we can find you a sweeter or two that is easier, it should at least do some good."

"As much as I appreciate the help, I really hate needing it." Ian said softly. "Not being able to dress on my own is just to annoying."

"I understand." She reached up to kiss him again. "Which is why we will see if we can do it easier for you."

TBC


	19. Chapter 19

Author's note: This is based on the movie National Treasure, and is to a great deal dedicated to the more than worthy performance of Sean Bean. I enjoyed the movie very much, but I thought that since Ben and Ian often used similar methods to reach the same goal, I did not see one of them as more evil than the other. I also thought that the hints of the friendship we saw between them should be explored more. I began doing that in 'Who Did You Say Stole the Declaration,' this story takes up a short time after that one ended, and is my version of what happened next. I hope you all shall like it.

Big thanks to LadyDeb1970 who have been going over this for me, and helped me with plot and story ideas. Also to Celebrion for being my beta.

Disclaimer: I do not own National Treasure. I just borrowed it because I like Sean Bean as an actor. I will return all characters in good and whole order, completely undamaged, if covered with a slight glue residue from having been put together again. I also swear I will not make any serious attempt at stealing Ian. More than I already have that is…

The name of Thomas McDowell have been stolen from LadyDeb1970, with her kind permission, as well as one or two other details.

/Elenhin

* * *

_**Chapter 19**_

Ian and Ben spent the following days trying to figure out their two remaining clues. Ian keeping up his search from the computer, and Ben trying to figure out the last rhyme.

The strange thing was that Ian had a feeling that he had figured it out, but not the clue for the treasure. It was something else he was beginning to feel sure of. When he was about eight his great aunt had died, leaving him the heir of the family castle. On the condition that he could give the answer to the riddle.

Suddenly he had a feeling that he could give the answer. He was not sure however, and because of what it would mean to Charlotte he wanted to talk it over with her. She did not always care for surprises.

It was still just as frustrating that he could not really do much with his daughter though. Holding her took two hands. Everything took two hands, and he could not manage that.

The bruise on his face had faded to a pale discolouration, and he was grateful for that, but there was still no way to miss that he had taken a blow or two.

It also made Charlotte over protective again. She meant well, he knew that, and he appreciated it, but it was still frustrating. Whatever he tried to do she was always there looking to see whatever he would manage or not.

After a few days frustrating was not enough to describe it. He felt as he was going crazy, and it was not just because it itched under the cast. That he could deal with, but if Charlotte came and asked him how he was doing once more today, he was not so sure that he could deal with that.

Speaking of witch, she was coming over, and there was no way for him to sneak away.

"It's almost lunch time." She said sneaking her arms around his shoulders, and frowning as he felt very tense. "You need to eat more Ian."

"I'm not very hungry." Ian shrugged and tried to concentrate on the screen.

"Are you feeling okay?" Charlotte went on concerned and Ian drew a deep breath. It was just the thing he had feared to hear. He felt as if he was chained up, it made him feel smothered.

Behind the two of them Gregor and Victor exchanged glances and grins. They had been waiting for the moment when Ian had had enough of being taken cared of. He really was not good at it.

"He's just going crazy." Victor grinned and Ian glared at him. "Right about time to."

"What do you mean?" Ian demanded.

"He was holding on next week." Victor chuckled, pointing at Gregor. "Another day or so and he would have won."

Ian just stared at them, they had the guts to make bets on things like that. Then he laughed. Of course they had. They had always done that, he had done it with them all the time. To think that they would not be doing that was to watch the Titanic movie and think that the boat would not sink.

He ignored that some people went to see that movie and was taken by surprise by the ending, that the boat sunk that was. Instead he was able to work some things back into perspective again, and it felt really good.

Since he was no longer able to hold his daughter and feed Ian had worked out a solution. He would sit on one chair holding his daughter, it was difficult since he only had arm to hold her with, ever now and again she would squirm, and he would fear that he would drop her, but she seemed sense that she could not move around to much and was fairly still.

Victor sat on the next chair facing him and was doing the actual feeding. Holding the plate and the spoon.

Charlotte had said that the baby food was spinach and carrots, and he still thought that it was cruel to make the child eat such a horrible concoction, but Ianna actually seemed to enjoy it, and if he objected to much he risked having to eat it. Or so she said, and he was not taking chances.

She was swallowing eagerly, and even complaining when Victor was not fast enough, then as she had had her fill she started trying to take the spoon from him. Swatting at it and generally trying to avoid eating.

"Do you s'pouse she's full?" Victor asked as he was loading the spoon with as much as was possible.

Charlotte suspecting that Ianna had indeed had as much as she wanted, and recognizing the teasing twinkle in Victor's eye moved over, ready to take her daughter.

"Don't you want any more?" Ian asked, turning his eyes down to the little toddler in his lap. Suddenly as he formed the last word he felt something horrible in his mouth, and a click against his teeth. Victor had taken the opportunity to jam the spoon loaded with baby food into his mouth.

It tasted really horrid and he wanted nothing more than to spit it out.

"Now, now. Can't be a bad example." Victor grinned. "Be a good boy and swallow."

Ian swallowed with an expression of utter disgust, glaring at Victor who was sniggering and filling the spoon again.

"Don't you dare." Ian growled and Charlotte reached over and picked up her daughter. Ianna was a little young yet to be involved in their rough-housing version of teasing, and Victor was brining the spoon closer to Ian again.

Ian was clearly disadvantaged with only one hand. When he grabbed Victor's wrist with his left hand, all he did was switch the spoon over to his other hand, and even if Ian clenched his teeth shut, still some of the horrid stuff got into his mouth.

"Now, be a good boy and don't make such a fuss." Victor grinned and the others laughed.

"Bastard." Ian spat. It was not a fair fight. He did not have much of a chance at the moment. When he tried to jerk and twist out of the way, his arm hurt. He could hear all of them laughing as he tried to evade the spoon.

When he finally was able to get a hold of both Victor's hand and the spoon, he got a nasty surprise. Victor scoped up a handful of the baby food and just smeared it into his face. It was all over his face. In his mouth, in his hair, and even in his nose.

"Bloody bastard." He cursed.

Victor just laughed and tried to get another handful into his face.

As Ian tried to wipe the stuff of his face he saw how his daughter was laughing. She was waving her arms, bubbling with laughter and squealing with delight.

"No fun." Ian growled, still trying to wipe his face.

Charlotte handed Ianna over to Phil. "Come Ian, I'll help you clean off." She said trying to restrain the laughter. It had just been to funny to watch, but poor Ian could hardly clean off on his own, at least not very effectively.

"Bloody cowardly." Ian muttered as he glared at Victor.

"Had to take the opportunity the only time I knew I could win." Victor grinned and shrugged. "You always told us to take the chance when it presented itself, cause you'll never know it it'll come again."

"I never told you to attack me." Ian growled. He could see the humour in it, no matter how awful that stuff had tasted he could see the humour in it, but there was no hurry in letting Victor know that. It was more preferable to let him sweat for a while. It was his revenge, and one he was good at.

"You know I was right." He told Charlotte as he dried himself with a towel. "That stuff is horrid."

"Babies don't think about it that way." Charlotte told him.

"They might not, but I can't feed her something like that again with a clear conscience." He shook his head.

Charlotte sighed. "Ian, really, truly and honestly. She does not perceive the taste the same way you do."

"Yeah, but I perceive it that way." Ian objected. "How can I look her in the eye when she's older and tell her what I made her eat."

"She'll have no memory of it then. It won't matter to her." Charlotte sighed again. "Tell you what Ian, no more spinach and carrots, but some other of the more healthy stuff."

"Not the ones that are to horrid." Ian stated. "Cant we just stick to the nice ones."

"Ian, there really aren't much difference between them." She informed him. "Remember, at some point you ate these as well."

"I don't think that I did." Ian said thoughtfully. "I think my mother said I would not eat them when I was a kid. So she would do something else."

"Then there you have the problem." Charlotte reached up and kissed him on the tip of his now clean nose. "You are the exception who never liked those. She does."

Ian was forced to admit that she did have a point, that did however not mean that he would feed his daughter something that he himself thought was so horrible.

Ben looked up and over to where Ian was still sitting working at the computer, he had really had no idea that Ian was so skilled with computers that he could use them for finding so much information.

He was suffering difficulties because he only had one hand, but he was apparently making headway.

"Have you found something yet?" He asked, meaning it as a compliment and encouragement to him. He was impressed by the effort Ian was putting down with it.

Ian looked up at him. "I think that I'm getting closer to it." He said, and with a sight closed down the game of solitary that he had been playing, he had only wanted to relax for a few moments anyway. Solitary was good when you wanted to do some relaxed and objective thinking as it took only a little concentration.

"It is the title of a book." He stated. "But try to find a library that has a book that old."

"But books of that age is always preserved." Ben objected.

Ian nodded his agreement. "They are, but they do not appear on the Library's list. You would have to know that they had them, and even then it is not easy to be allowed to look at them, but I'm thinking that they will allow Abigail to have a look if we can only find it."

"They would let her have a look on it." Ben agreed.

"I think I have something here." Ian gave a triumphant grin. "Not stated outright that they have it, but definitely worth going there to find out." He turned the laptop towards Ben so that he would be able to read the screen easier.

"I think we should ask Abigail to call them." Ian suggested.

"Definitely." Ben agreed. Abigail was the one of them whom they would be the most willing to talk to, and she soon had gotten them permission to come and search through their old archive.

Abigail had a rather impressive position with those things, they did not argue with someone who had been in charge of the declaration of independence. They even got invited. So it was time to head of towards the other side of England, a fair distance away as it turned out.

Then came the tedious work of looking through one of the largest archives, for one title.

"How many books are there here?" Phil looked over the countless number of book shelves.

"Thousands." Ian might be feeling intimidated knowing they would have to go through a big share of these, but he was also feeling thrilled of being around so many so old tomes.

"We'd better get started then." Ben stated. "We need a system for doing this."

Ian who was still a bit hindered thought he could move about easier was mainly in charge of looking through different books, and watching Ianna. Her presence was frowned upon slightly, as if they thought she was about to chew on the books, but Abigail assured them that there was no danger. Ianna would not be allowed near any of the old books.

She was mostly sleeping in her basket anyway, except when she wanted feeding. They took her outside the library to feed her. She was eating more and more real food now. Ian still tried to convince her that she should object to the horrid jars of mashed baby food, whenever Charlotte could not hear.

He did not want the argument that would come if she heard him complain to much about it. Apparently they were healthy enough that the taste did not matter. What more was that he kept finding out just how bad it tasted. Ianna had discovered the fun that was trying to get her hands into the plate, and then into his face.

She was getting skilled at it. "No, Ianna, don't." He warned her as she was lunging for the bowl again. Phil did not bother to remove her hand from it, he was enjoying the show of when Ianna reached her hand upwards to Ian's face. Ian could do nothing but try and keep his head out of reach, and he was not very good at that.

She was far more skilled at reaching him. It might have to do with the fact that he was afraid of moving to much least she lost her balance, and she did not have any such qualms. It was up to him to make sure that she did not tumble down from his lap.

"Phil, stop helping her." He demanded as he pulled his head back.

"I'm not." Phil sounded about as innocent as a small child. One that was standing over a broken vase with a hammer behind his back.

"Then start helping me." Ian gave his daughter an annoyed glare as she happily patted his cheek. He did however not mind it as much as he tried to give the appearance that he did. It was not all that bad in fact. He hated the stuff sure enough, but Ianna was really funny, and he loved to her that bubbling laughter more than anything else.

He did however not love hearing that particular laughter, and if Victor did not stop it soon he was going to take revenge at him, as soon as he was physically able to.

"Get him away from here for one thing." Ian nodded to Victor.

"Sorry, but I don't think that I could." Phil grinned.

Ian looked up at the both of them. "I hope you two are aware that it is only a matter of a few weeks before I can take revenge on you again." He pointed out trying to sound menacing.

"We are." Phil was still grinning. "But you were never one to carry a grudge for that long." Again both of them laughed as Ianna patted her father on the mouth and nose with a handful of the food.

"I might make an exception. Considering how long you have been tormenting me I think I could carry the grudge long enough for revenge." He was not sure what, but he was sure that he would take some form of revenge on them. He was just waiting for the right opportunity whenever it presented itself. It might be true that he rarely carried grudges, but it was also true that he had a lot of patience when he wanted. He could wait.

He had to go away a little to be able to get the cast removed thought, he had been asked to go back to the hospital where they had first taken care of him, so Charlotte was supposed to go with him. Ian was also begging to think of doing another thing at the same time.

Nott including his men in it, leaving them to help Ben would actually be revenge of a sort, he would be sure to make it something more humiliating as well, but it was a good start. So for the moment the only one he told was Charlotte.

She was surprised, she was very surprised, and she did say that she wished he had told her before, but she also understood why he had not. So in the end she agreed to making a detour.

Ian could not wait to get rid of the cast, even if it meant going back to a hospital, and he really did not care much for that idea. Even if he knew he would be forced to use the sling for some time longer, at least he would be rid of the bloody cast.

It was a relief, every bit as big a relief as he had imagined it would be, and Charlotte laughed at him when he sat moving his wrist back and forth, it might hurt to do it, but at least he could do it.

"Be careful Ian." She told him as she kissed his cheek. "Don't strain it to much."

Ian nodded and allowed his hand to rest. She had a point, it was just so wonderful to be rid of the cast. Even if he now was to wear a brace to support the weakened arm, at least he could movie it again.

Charlotte helped him to fit the brace in place and then they moved on to take care of the final errand before heading back to the others.

They had made good progress as the two of them had been away. Good enough progress that they should be able to come up with something within the next week. I though he had made some other progress, it was not easy, but he was avoiding Ianna's attempts ad force feeding him better now.

Ianna had gotten much stronger, Ian decided as he for once tried to free his hair from her hand. She was tugging a little to hard for his comfort, she was also growing a lot. What Ian thought was the best thing was that she was now eating some more solid food. Bread and some fruit.

"I've think I have something here." Ben hurried down the ladder and called to the others.

In a matter of a few moments all of them had gathered around the table. Charlotte making sure that Ianna could not read any of the pages.

Ian leaned over to peer closer at the book. "It seems like the right one." He agreed.

"But what in it is the clue?" Ben pondered.

"It's huge, it could be anything." Riley wined as he saw the thickness of the tome.

"I have an idea." Ian said thoughtfully. "Try and see if it is divided into sections." The book was very thick, he thought that they would have had to have divided it into sections. He could use his right arm now if he wanted, but it was easier to allow Ben to do it.

"It is." Ben looked up at him.

"Then try section four." Ian instructed him.

Ben flipped through the pages, carefully because they were brittle.

"Chapter one, and page thirty four." Ian went on. "It is the numbers we were given in the rhyme, I would not be surprised if we were to use it again."

"Me neither." Abigail was leaning in close from the other side of Ben.

"Here it is." Ben opened the book and smoothed out the pages carefully. The largest part of the page was covered in a heavy script, then there was two pictures drawn on the page as well. One of a knight and one of his shield.

Ben read through the page several times while Ian only read it once. It was about knights, that much was clear.

"I have no idea what this would be supposed to mean." Ben sighed. "I think we have to go over the rest of the book as well."

"No, it is here, it is on this page." Ian grinned as he had recognized something. He had not dared to even dream that he would find this, but it did make sense in a way.

Ben gave him a confused look, wondering what Ian had seen on the page that he had not seen himself.

"It is the McDowell's" Abigail suddenly stated. "That symbol is a part of their family standard." She was pointing on the part of the page that was the shield. On the shield was the symbol of the knight.

"What?" Ben stared at her confused.

"Remember the McDowell's that I have been trying to find." Abigail stated. "That is their family standard." She stared at the page again. "Somehow they must be connected to the treasure."

Ian gave her a curious look, this was new information to him, he really wondered why Abigail would be interested in the McDowell's, but he supposed he would find out any moment now.

"Wait, wait, hold." Riley held up his hands. "What are you two talking about?" He demanded.

"The McDowell's are a Scottish family." Abigail explained. "They have a castle in Scotland, and it is believed that some letters of historical value could be found there, now maybe the treasure can be found there as well."

"Okay, so we go there." Riley shrugged.

"It's not that easy." Ben recalled the rest of what Abigail had said.

"There is only one heir to the castle." Abigail went on. "Thomas McDowell, and no one knows where he can be found, he disappeared several years ago."

"Ow." Riley made a face.

"They will not let anyone else into the castle." Ben explained. "I think that we are stuck Ian. Abigail has been trying to find this guy for a long time now."

Ian ran a hand through his hair as he pondered his next words. This would be tricky, like a ballet in a mine field.

"People have their reasons for wanting to disappear at times." He said carefully in a neutral tone.

"Yes." Abigail agreed. "But we are talking about a very respectable family here. Why would someone from a family as notable as Benjamin Franklin's want to hide out?"

"There are many reasons." Ian stated, this really made him nervous. "Sadusky told you that my last name could be an alias, and it is. My given name was too notable, now Howe, no one thinks twice about that name. So I changed it, I can however still use my old family name should I chose to do so. You see Abigail, sometimes family names can become burdensome."

"Ian, I can't see any reason why Thomas McDowell would see his name as burdensome." Abigail stated.

"The kid had it going for him in school." Ben added. "Though he lost his parents when he was young, I would think that his name would have helped him. There would have had to be people who knew his parents. And with a castle he would have had it made for him."

"But only if he had access to the castle." Ian pointed out. "It would all depend on that. On that and what kind of contacts he had from his parents. There is no guarantee that they would be willing to help him."

"That is really interesting, but it does not help us." Riley stated. "Now unless someone here should just happen to be this McDowell, it does not really matter." He laughed sarcastically to prove just how silly the notion was.

"Ian Thomas McDowell." Ian said with a grin. "Now days known as Ian Howe. For once you actually beat the others to it Riley, how does it feel?"

They were staring at them, all three of them. Riley, Ben and Abigail. Charlotte had known for a few days now, and the others had known enough not to be surprised. Then there was Ianna who did not really care one way or the other.

"A bit too notable, don't you agree Abigail?" He asked apprehensively and she nodded dumbly.

"You are the heir to the castle?" Ben managed.

"I am, and as of the last week I am also the official owner of that same castle. You see, I was finally able to figure out the answer to the riddle, and so I took care of that condition in the will." Ian almost sounded guilty as he spoke. Abigail thought that she might have expected gloat from him, but not guilt. On the other hand she was still surprised over the news.

"So, now I am the owner of the castle, and of the land that belongs to it." Ian added, this was really feeling awkward, he had no expected this turn. "I must say that I shall not mind going back there either. I have not been there since I was a young lad who went on treasure hunts in the wine cellar." Ian smiled fondly over the memory.

"It is a quite beautiful place, and according to the legend there is a hidden treasure there." He added teasingly. Not because he wanted to rub their noses in it, but because he could not resist.

"You are a McDowell." Abigail sounded angry. "You drew the whole family name into the dirt just to make yourself a few dollars. The McDowell's were not criminals."

"But the name was never soiled." Ian defended himself. "That was where the name Howe came in. I kept my family out of it." He spoke the last sentence with all seriousness. "Now if you think that I have ruined my family name, you need not come with me. But I am going there."

"Still, how could you betray that family." Abigail went on. Now that it had sunken in she could not get over that this, that he, was the one she had been looking for.

Ian sighed, he had been afraid of this. He glanced at his men and knew that they would not interfere, then he glanced and Charlotte. She was radiating anger, but he tried to beg her to be calm with his eyes. It was best if he could handle this without her getting angry and shouting.

"I went from having a normal family to being on my own in a day." He said slowly. "And I made my decision that day. Maybe it was a poor one, but I was a bit pressed for time that moment. I made a promise though, that Thomas McDowell would never again appear in court, that the name would be kept free from shame, and so I took the last name Howe, and used my second name, Ian, instead of Thomas. You might not approve Abigail, but I did not drag down the name, I did not, no matter what else I did. And you know of the condition of the castle I am sure, had I been the legal owner at that time, I doubt my choice would have been the same, but it was my choice, and now you must chose whatever to accept it or not."

Abigail stood there, wondering what she should do next, then she recalled how she had been seeing Ian in a different way lately. He had been different, and she had to admit that she had thought Ben had been thoughtless before. She would not do the same thing.

"I need time to get used to this." She said slowly. "You are right, I won't judge you any different for it, but it really does take some getting used to."

"I know." Ian nodded. "Before Ben asks me why I never said anything, before last week I never thought that I would ever be able to solve the riddle. My great aunt mad me the heir after I spent a summer there. The family was running out of people to take over, and so she named me."

"You've got a castle?" Riley asked confused.

"I mentioned it to you Ben." Ian went on. "The summer I spent there." There was rumours of a hidden treasure, and I searched for it. I never found it, but I guess it was because I did not have the clues. Now we should be able to find it."

"Should be easy." Gregor shrugged.

"Really easy." Victor agreed.

"When you where there, where did you look?" Ben asked. "You said you were just a child, so you would only have been able to search a limited area."

"Not so limited." Ian grinned. "I was all over the place. Down in the wine cellar and up on the roof. My great aunt was of the belief that you could not stop young boys so you might as well give them free rein."

"But those old places can be dangerous." Abigail objected. "If you were alone anything could have happened."

"She trusted me to handle it." He shrugged. "Now, we have everything we need, save a few pictures of that page, shall we get those and move on?"

It did not take long, not after Ian had finally soothed Ianna who had seen the camera, and got rather sad when she found she was not allowed to play with it. In the end Ian allowed her to play with it for some time. After they had safe copied the pictures to the laptop. Who knew what buttons she might find on the camera and accidentally push. It would be bad to find that she had erased them all by accident.

They had to cross the border to Scotland, and travel some fair distance into the country before they would arrive at the castle. It was easy to see who was used to the highland and who was not.

All the ups and downs over the hills could take some serious getting used to, at least if you were very used to a more flatter land. Not to mention the fact that the roads were rather narrow. It did not bother Ian the least, he was used to this kind of roads, but Riley did look a little nervous, then again, it might have to do with what side of the road they were driving on. Not everyone was used to have the steering wheel on the 'right' side of the car.

He actually preferred it this way, even if he had spent more time with the American standard. It had to be bothering Ben the slightest as well, because he was not quite so eager to drive as he had been before. Mostly it was Victor who drove.

"What are you thinking about?" Charlotte asked him quietly as he sat gazing out the window. Victor and Gregor was again wrapped up in their travel game of never agreeing on anything. This time Phil had joined in, despite being the one driving. Generally, he was arguing against whoever was winning.

"I've only been there once." Ian told her softly, I wonder how much have changed?"

"Has it been cared for." Charlotte asked, if it had been standing empty the whole time, then it was most likely one giant spider web.

"I've paid for it to be kept in order." Ian assured her. "No doubt there shall be plenty of spider webs, and there was rats in the cellar when I was there, but everything should be in order."

"That's a good thing." Ben noted from where he had been half listening.

"Why did you not go back there?" Abigail asked.

"Actually I was not allowed to unless I could solve the clue." Ian admitted. "It was the term in the will. I was allowed to make sure it was cared for, and I was allowed to name a heir of my own, but I was not allowed to go there."

"Did you have another heir?" Ben asked carefully, he had a suspicion that he knew what Ian would say.

"Shaw." Ian said as he turned his attention back to the window again. It was a sad thought and he was really feeling the weight of it all again. The sadness was almost overwhelming when a sharp tug on his hair distracted him from it.

Charlotte had been holding up Ianna towards him, and she had gotten hold of a fistful of his hair.

"Someone wants your attention." Charlotte grinned. She had done it on purpose, making sure that Ianna would go for his hair. She had not seemed interested at the moment, but once you dangled one of Ian's locks in front of her, she could not resist tugging on it.

"I can tell, ow." Ian tilted his head to the side to try and relive the pressure. "She's getting to strong, ow, for this."

"She's just letting you know how much she likes you." Charlotte placed Ianna in his lap, and laughed as Ianna made an attempt at strangle Ian with his own hair. Ianna was laughing as well.

Ian was just able to use his right hand if he needed to now, but keeping his daughter secure in his lap, and freeing his hair at the same time was more than he could handle. She pulled and laughed, and all he could do was follow with his head.

"Why does she never, ow, pull at your hair?" He demanded. "It's longer than mine."

"She thinks that you are more fun." Charlotte laughed smugly. She was actually more inclined to think that Ianna was just to much her fathers daughter. She did seem to prefer playing with him, and she had no doubt her first word would be daddy.

"I really don't understand it." Ian wished he could find the baby toy, encourage her to tug on that instead, but he did not have enough hands to do that. All he could do was hoping she would tire soon.

When it appeared that she would not Charlotte took pity on him and worked his tresses lose from the babies hand.

"Thank you." Ian said with just a hint of sarcasm in his voice. He was at least finely able to find the baby toy, and Ianna immediately took the challenge of trying to tug it from his hands, it was much more preferable.

**TBC**

_Please leave a review, the Cricket is hungry…._


	20. Chapter 20

Author's note: This is based on the movie National Treasure, and is to a great deal dedicated to the more than worthy performance of Sean Bean. I enjoyed the movie very much, but I thought that since Ben and Ian often used similar methods to reach the same goal, I did not see one of them as more evil than the other. I also thought that the hints of the friendship we saw between them should be explored more. I began doing that in 'Who Did You Say Stole the Declaration,' this story takes up a short time after that one ended, and is my version of what happened next. I hope you all shall like it.

Big thanks to LadyDeb1970 who have been going over this for me, and helped me with plot and story ideas. Also to Celebrion for being my beta.

Disclaimer: I do not own National Treasure. I just borrowed it because I like Sean Bean as an actor. I will return all characters in good and whole order, completely undamaged, if covered with a slight glue residue from having been put together again. I also swear I will not make any serious attempt at stealing Ian. More than I already have that is…

The name of Thomas McDowell have been stolen from LadyDeb1970, with her kind permission, as well as one or two other details.

/Elenhin

* * *

Chapter 20

The last stop before they would reach the castle and Ian found himself feeling oddly agitated. He recognized the road. The one from the village to the castle. He had been travelling on it several times when someone went to the village to go shopping that summer. Who ever went would be taking him along.

It was a chance for the small boy to get an ice cream or some candy, no matter how much fun the lad had, it was always fun to go to the village for an hour or so. Play for a few moments with other children his age.

One of the servants occasionally brought her child, when there was nothing else for the child to do during the days. She had been eight then, one year older than him, and not really interested in his games.

"_Do you want to go treasure hunting?" Ian asked the girl hopefully. _

"_There is no treasure." Ophelia pointed out. She had been asked to play that game before, and the only thing either of them had found was spider webs and rat droppings._

"_There is this time." Ian promised. "I've hidden a treasure." He pulled a crumbled sheet of paper from his pocket. He had worked on it to make it look old. It had been soaked in tea, it had been crumbled into a ball several times, and then finally a corner had been burnt away by a candle flame. He rather thought that it looked old enough to be a real treasure map._

"_Where have you hid it?" Ophelia asked him attentively. _

"_I can't tell you that." He objected. "We must follow the map to find it."_

_She pondered the question. "What kind of treasure is it?" _

_Ian shook his head, he did not recall that all girls were this difficult. It was just his luck to find the one that had no sense of adventures whatsoever. _

"_If we follow the map you'll find out." He told her. "But it's gold and silver." _

"_Where did you get gold and silver?" Ophelia demanded. _

"_It is a treasure, we wouldn't know where it came from." Ian explained patiently. "Maybe it is a pirate treasure." He suggested. _

"_There were no pirates here." Ophelia informed him. "But I can go along, if you promise we are not going down into the cellar again." She shuddered at the memory of the rat droppings._

"_I promise." He recalled the treasure he had hidden on the roof. "We are not going down into the cellar." He really had not understand why she was so scared of going down there, but he thought that he could go back there again when he was alone. He intended to search them more throughout anyway. Ophelia did not have the patience for that. _

_The two of them took of, Ian having begged some buns and fruit from the cook to bring along. It was never hard to get anything, all you had to do was ask and you got more than you could eat. It seemed that none of them minded having an adventurous and lively boy there. Quite the contradiction to back home where he was always told to calm down and play easier. _

_Now he lung the rucksack over his shoulder and set of with Ophelia in tow. He tried to make her take interest in where the map led, but she hardly even looked at it. She did eat her share of the buns, but only after he had shown her that they had been safe in a bag in the rucksack. She would not eat them if they had been in actual contact with the not to clean rucksack. _

"_See here." Ian pointed at the map. "We are getting closer." The only step left was up to an attic corridor, and then up through a hatch to the roof. He had hidden the bundle that was the treasure near the big smoke stack that came from one wing of the castle. _

"_I am not going up there." Ophelia stated. They were standing outside the door to the attic. _

"_But the treasure is up there." Ian objected. "We are really close." _

"_You go get it then. I'll wait here." She stated and Ian gave up. _

_Girls he sighed as he pushed open the door. Why would they not see the fun of those games. Well, he could not leave the treasure up there, he had to go and retrieve it, so he pushed open the door and climbed up to the hatch that led to the roof. There was no danger of falling, the roof here was flat and broad, and it was more safe than some of the other places he had been exploring. _

_His great aunt knew he had been up on the roof, and she had just laughed and said that it must have been a wonderful view up there, it was, he could see all the way to the village. One of the maids had objected, but his great aunt had said that before the small boys was always sent up there to clean the smoke stacks, they were even made to climb down into them and clean them. If it had been safe enough for them it should be safe enough for Ian. _

_Now that he stood beside the smoke stack he thought about it, how had they been able to climb down into the smoke stack. He stuffed the bundle that was the treasure into the rucksack and looked closer at the brick tower. _

_There were iron rungs on the outside that you could use to climb up on, he climbed up and looked inside, felt around with his hands in the soot. His hands got black as soon as he touched the rough wall, but he found some similar rungs. _

_Ian pondered his discovery for a moment. If what his great aunt had said was true, then it would be possible for him to climb all the way down to the open fireplace in the hall of this wing, that would be something. One second later he was searching his way down the rungs, feeling with his feet for the next rung in the darkness. _

_It was a long climb, and when he looked up he could see the sky far above him, and if he looked down he could see a faint light there as well, the fire place he assumed. When there was maybe eight feet left he ran out of rungs, but he could see the hearth clearly then, so he hung by the last rung and dropped himself to the bottom. Landing in a small cloud of soot and ashes. _

_Most of his clothes was smeared black with soot, but it had been really fun, very fun. He would have to do it again if he got the chance. For the moment he had better get back to Ophelia. _

"_What have you done!" She screamed when she saw him._

"_Did you know that you can climb down through the smoke stack?" He beamed. _

"_You've got soot all over you.!" She shrieked. "Don't get near me." _

"_But I found the treasure." Ian pulled the rucksack from his back and held up the bundle. Unwrapping the cloth to show a silver soup spoon, some silver table ware and one golden spoon._

"_Where did you get that?" Ophelia demanded as she took all of it in._

"_The cup board in the dinning room." Ian shrugged. "I've been careful not to lose any of it, and I asked if I could use it as a treasure." _

"_You are crazy." She shrugged. "And you are dropping dirt around you." _

"_It's just soot." He did not understand what she was making all the fuss about. "Did you know that you can get up onto the roof from the smoke stack."_

"_Only crazy people would do that." Was Ophelia's take on it. "Come now, I want to go back." _

_Ian followed her, back home there were a lot of kids who were never allowed to do anything fun for their parents. Who were always told to be careful and not to get dirty, they acted a lot like Ophelia. He supposed that it was because she was not allowed to do those things, and it was not really his fault, but it would have been so much fun to have someone to do those things with. _

_Ophelia left to find her mother, and Ian went to return the silverware. Laying the bundle on the floor for the time being. He had sense enough not to touch the silver when his hands were black with soot._

"_I did not know we had a chimney boy in the house." He heard a voice chuckle behind him._

_He turned to great his great aunt. "You really can climb the smoke stack all the way down." He exclaimed happily. "I was up getting the treasure, and I found the rungs, I could climb all the way down." He beamed a smile that showed white in a black face._

"_So you could." She chuckled. "Thought how we are going to get the soot away from you I have no idea." _

"_It'll go off with water." Ian shrugged. How hard could it be to wash of some soot. "I'll go to the creak to take a swim." There was a creak behind the castle, and the water had formed a pool that was just so deep he could not reach the bottom. It was a very small creak, but it was fun to play in as well. You could build a dam there, and the water level would rise. _

"_You do that." She nodded. She had seen lively boys at play before, but she had not seen one like this one for many years. Not since her brother and she were young. He had always been a rascal, always running around and making mischief of some sort. Ian resembled him closely, both in looks and behaviour. They were both of the same wild spirit. _

_She could see the creak and the pool from the window, watching Ian was like watching her brother again. The way he kicked of his shoes, but then jumped in with his clothes on. Taking the most of the soot from them, then he took the garments off and proceeded to clean himself off. _

_It was a game to the young lad, diving after pretty stones, once chasing after a frog butt naked as he caught sight of it. Running back to the pool with it and played with it. _

_If he had lived to get that old her brother would have been the owner of the castle and not her, seeing this lad that was the spiting image of him, she knew whom she would make her heir. Hopefully this lad would live longer than her brother, and would be able to enjoy it. She would make sure that owning the castle would be an adventure for him. _

* * *

Ian knew where they were when they went past the two huge brick pillars that had once supported a huge iron gate.

He looked out the window to catch the first sight of the old castle, when they passed over that hill there, and there, he could see the tower and the roof. The others looked quite impressed by the sight. To Ian it felt as if he was going home.

The summer he had spent there had been one of the happiest ones in his life. Summers spent in the city at home had been unsatisfactory for his adventures senses.

The main entrance was impressive, huge iron studded doors that opened to the large steps. It was made to impress the ones that were coming, but it was also for defence. On both sides of the door towers curved outwards, it was impressive, but you could also easily cower the steps with fire should you wish to. There were several smaller entrances around the castle, and a fairly big one in the back, one that opened up on the large stone paved square, a stable yard of sorts. Of to the right and left where the garden, and behind the stable the land stretched out into fields.

"It doesn't look very neglected." Ben noted as he studied the iron studs on the door. There was no sign of rust on them, neither on the huge iron imitation of a lion head with its iron ring in his mouth.

"It isn't very neglected." Ian told him as he searched in his pocket for the keys. A huge key ring that bulged in the pocket, and the tricky part was not really to find it, but to untangle it enough to get it out of his pocket. "I paid regularly to make sure nothing fell in to bad neglect. Everything in here should be in working order and cared for."

As to prove his words right the key turned easily in the well oiled lock, and he grabbed the iron ring to pull the door open. Allowing it to swing open he stepped inside. It was dusty, small clouds of dust swirling in the air, but it was also most impressive. Just as he recalled it.

"They knew what they were doing." Charlotte said softly.

"It's beautiful." Abigail smiled as she stepped inside.

Gregor and Victor stood staring while Phil looked around in admiration. Riley had stopped and was staring now. "Wow." He breathed.

Ian took in the sight, dead ahead across a huge carpet was the marble stair that led to the second floor. It made a landing halfway down, and then split both to the right and to the left, going down in a gentle curve. Even now it was tempting to slide down the banister as he had done years ago.

Around the hall were marble statues, full sets of armour standing at attention in their stands. Weapons hanging on the walls. Vases and other decoration standing on palisades. It was made to impress and it was impressing.

In Charlotte's arms Ianna laughed and stretched her arms toward the nearest suit of armour. Charlotte moved her closer so that she could watch while Victor closed the door.

"Where would we even begin to search." Ben shook his head as he realised how huge this place was. The image of Ian as the owner of all this took some getting used to.

"I say we look around and get out bearings." Ian suggested. "We are in no hurry here. We can take all the time we want."

"I can see how you would have had fun here." Abigail admitted. She was approaching the marble banister. "May I guess which way you took down the stair." She grinned knowingly at him and Ian smiled back.

"I think that I actually walked down once or twice." He told her. "It was really tricky to go down on the banister, you had to be careful with the bend." He gazed up at the landing. "The fun was to gather a lot of cushions and then ignore the bend and just slid over the edge."

Abigail looked shocked up at the landing, it was high enough that a fall could be very dangerous, and she was about to say something about it, then decided not to. Somehow she had a feeling that Ian might have done even more reckless things here.

"Would it be a bad idea to suggest we eat before we explore." Charlotte asked. "I'm a bit hungry, and I have a feeling that exploring will take time.

"Sounds like a good idea." Abigail agreed. The way everything male was looking around she had a feeling that once you set them lose, there would be no way to make them come back for something like a meal.

"Ian, is there anywhere where we can prepare a meal?" She asked.

"The servants kitchen should do nicely." He decided. "The main kitchen is so large it's impractical." He lead them through the corridors to the kitchen, even if he had to stop and think over the way once or twice.

"I'm surprised that you know the way to the kitchen." Gregor teased him. "Certainly don't know what to do in one."

"Where do you think I went to get snacks between the meals." Ian laughed. "Cocks tend to think that 'growing boys needs a lot of food,' so it was easy to get something whenever you wanted. They would pack me lunches whenever I went exploring."

"Where did you go exploring?" Ben asked curiously as he looked around the kitchen. A huge iron wood stove, and then there was a gas stove, and even an electrical one. There was a refrigerator and the kitchen was actually well equipped.

"Everywhere." Ian shrugged. "Countryside and indoors as well. I camped out in the cellars once when I was looking for the treasure."

"Camped in the cellars?" Riley asked sounding confused.

"Brought a sleeping bag and some food." Ian grinned. "I was looking for the treasure, I did not have time to get back up just to sleep."

Victor chuckled as he put their grocery bags on the table. Once they decided to eat he and Phil had gotten them from the car.

"Would that one work?" Charlotte asked pointing to the electrical stove.

"I think so, the power should be on." Ian nodded. He had a suspicion that he would be banned from cooking. He usually were. "And there should be plates and everything you need in the cabinets. I thought I might go and check out how the dinning room looks, and the rooms just near by."

"There is no way we can rein the boys in." Charlotte chuckled to Abigail. Sure, she wanted to go as well, but she was hungry and more interested in food for the moment. "Take Ianna with you, and no one does anything stupid. No sliding on the banister Ian. I don't want either of you doing it, and you especially."

"I wouldn't dream of it." Ian gave him his best innocent smile. Feeling very conscious of his arm still, it had healed enough that he had ignored the sling, but if he strained it to much it would still ach and throb. However, how could anyone resist the opportunity of such a nice marble banister if they should just happen across it.

"You would, now stop it. I'm serious Ian. Don't do anything of the sort." Her expression allowed no room for pretended innocence, and Ian promised that he would not do anything stupid, hoping he could get away with a difference of opinion on the definition stupid.

Charlotte turned to Phil. "Keep him in check." She ordered.

Phil nodded and made his promise and Ian suddenly doubted that there would be much fun. They followed the servants corridor to the smaller dining room. Smaller, it was still very big. Chairs covered with dust drapes to protect them, and the table had a dusty surface. The polished oak glinting through the dust layer.

"We need to clear the dust of if we are to eat here." Ian noted, pulling one dust drape from a chair. He moved to stuff it away in the corner of the room.

Gregor grinned and removed another drape, then proceeded to swipe at the table with it, cleaning of the dust. It might not be a method that everyone approved of, but it cleared the table of the dust.

Ben was walking around in the room, looking at everything. Ian looked up at him. "There should be some silverware in the cupboard." He said absently. "I think that they said most of it was heirlooms, so it should be pretty old."

Ben went over there and opened the cupboard, silver was there, lined in neat rows upon velvet and Ben gave a whistle. It was indeed old silver that was there, and some gold spoons as well. He held up a fork and looked at it closely.

"This is really valuable." He noted with admiration.

Ian smiled. "I thought so, I used to hide it all over the place and claim that it was the treasure." He was looking at some of the paintings on the walls. Before he had only known that he quite enjoyed them, now he had an idea what they were worth as well. "There are more valuable stuff in here than I though." He admitted.

"You used to hide those." Ben choked as he still held the spoon. "They must be worth hundred of dollars."

"Since when did children care about that." Ian gave a meaning look at Ianna who had found a new toy. She had been given a silver candle extinguisher from Victor and was now playing with it quite content. He suspected that it would be worth enough that it should not be a toy, but he did not really care, not anymore than his great aunt had.

A few short tours to the surrounding rooms told him that his memories were for the most part reliable when it came to what could be found more. He mistook a sitting room for common room, but that did not really matter. He would have liked to go upstairs to check the rooms there, the one he had used for one, but unfortunately that seemed to be considered stupid. Or at least allowing him there on his own seemed to.

Ben was busy checking candle holders as if he would find a hidden passage that way.

"Regretfully that wont work." Ian told him slowly. "It was the first thing I tried. I both pushed, twisted and pulled on them, and nothing worked."

"It is an interesting design." He told Ian. "It is simple and yet intricate at the same time."

"They knew what they were doing." Ian smiled. "They were very skilled, just look at that one." He pointed up to the ceiling and the crystal chandelier hanging there. "Those things are all over the place, because there have been generations here to gather them, not to mention what a powerful family it was to start with. I hardly think that they balked to having children playing in the halls."

"Still." Ben swallowed as he realised the value of some of the things that would have been made into playthings.

Abigail entered the room before he could say anything further. Cold cuts of chicken and potato salad was brought onto the table. Combined with some ham, tomatoes and bread, and it made a quite nice meal. They had brought some cider and it was actually quite festive in the impressive room.

**TBC**

_Please revive, the Cricket is hungry…._


	21. Chapter 21

Author's note: This is based on the movie National Treasure, and is to a great deal dedicated to the more than worthy performance of Sean Bean. I enjoyed the movie very much, but I thought that since Ben and Ian often used similar methods to reach the same goal, I did not see one of them as more evil than the other. I also thought that the hints of the friendship we saw between them should be explored more. I began doing that in 'Who Did You Say Stole the Declaration,' this story takes up a short time after that one ended, and is my version of what happened next. I hope you all shall like it.

Big thanks to LadyDeb1970 who have been going over this for me, and helped me with plot and story ideas. Also to Celebrion for being my beta.

Disclaimer: I do not own National Treasure. I just borrowed it because I like Sean Bean as an actor. I will return all characters in good and whole order, completely undamaged, if covered with a slight glue residue from having been put together again. I also swear I will not make any serious attempt at stealing Ian. More than I already have that is…

The name of Thomas McDowell have been stolen from LadyDeb1970, with her kind permission, as well as one or two other details.

/Elenhin

* * *

_**Chapter 21**_

After they had eaten they proceeded to check out the castle. Trying to get their bearings enough to see what would be the most likely spot for a hidden treasure. In the meantime there was certain things they wanted to explore. Who knew if he would ever get the chance to explore a castle like this one again.

To the side of the main entrance hall was the armoury, still with an most impressive amount of weapons on the walls. On pegs and racks were swords and axes, lances and muskets, and even rifles. Any kind of weapon that could be used for defence or attack had been put there.

Ben admired a two headed battle axes with a five feet handle. "This one have been used." He noted. "The blade has notches in it."

"Most of this has been used at one point or another." Ian agreed. "Maybe not here, but somewhere." He touched the handle of a heavy mace.

"Looks dangerous." Riley stated as he looked at an old musket.

"This is interesting." Ben had stopped not far from Ian. "There is a gouge of some kind in the wall here." The gouge was maybe four feet up from the floor. It looked as if something heavy had struck the stone wall and broken lose a piece. "There must have been fighting in here at some point, but the strange thing is that it does not look all that old."

"Its about thirty years old." Ian said thoughtfully as he looked at it.

"How can you tell?" Abigail touched the broken surface with her finger. It had not been smoothed by age, but it was still impressive that he could tell it so close.

"Well." Ian looked embarrassed. "I had to try and see if I could figure out how to use the mace." He motioned to the one behind him. "And apparently I was a bit to close to the wall."

They stared at him, all of them stared at him in confusion. He shrugged under their gazes.

"I was a kid, I wanted to know how you used a mace, but the weight of it is a bit tricky to handle, and I wound up smacking it against the wall." They were still staring at him. Ian shook his head, he waved at the mace hanging from its pegs. "That one, I tried to use it."

"You made that." Ben pointed to the wall. "With that?" He pointed to the mace.

"Yes." Ian nodded. It had been really exciting.

Ian was looking around in the armoury. Hefting a sword here, trying to lift an axe there. The mace had caught his attention and he took it down. His great aunt had told him that it might be his only chance to see these things up close.

_She had encouraged him to take a closer look, warning him that some of them had sharp edges. For once she had been there to supervise what he did. _

_Ian hefted the mace, it was very heavy, and he had to struggle with it. _

"_Can I try to swing it?" He asked, looking up at her. _

_She nodded. "Just be careful with the weight." _

_Ian swung it, the weight of the spiked ball nearly tore the shaft from his hands, he held on to it desperately, spun around as it dragged at him, and the spiked head struck the wall. Ian fell to the floor with the mace, but luckily did not get it on himself. _

"_Well I'll be…" His great aunt whistled. "I never thought they could do that much damage." She admired the whole in the wall. "You learn something new every day, eh. Ian." _

"I thought that it was in school you made a mace." Charlotte frowned.

"Well, because of this one, I knew how to make it." Ian admitted. He had studied the mace closely before he went home. Then years later in school he had made one like it. "I told you about it." He nodded to Charlotte.

"I only recalled the one you said you made." She shrugged. "It would however explain some things, thought you had better not fool around with it now."

"I never fooled around with it." He objected.

"Ian, there is a hole in the wall." Charlotte said slowly. "In the stone wall." She gave him that look that said clearly just how stupid she considered it. "If that is not fooling around, then what is?"

"Why do I get a feeling that I will be blamed for any domestic damage." Ian complained to Victor who stood closest.

"Probably cause she knows you to well by now." Victor grinned.

Ian reached out his left hand and fingered the shaft of the mace. "Just once, please?" He begged looking at Charlotte who laughed.

"No, Ian. Lets keep him around for a while longer." She chuckled. "At least long enough for him to learn how to put on a diaper the right way."

"You're gonna have to get a whole bunch of kids before he learns that." Was Gregor's opinion.

"I don't think he ever will." Phil stated looking at his friend.

Charlotte sighed. "Lets go on and see if we can figure out how to find the treasure."

"I am guessing that it will be in the cellars." Ian said, he was back in his business mode and wanted to find it.

"How can you be certain of that?" Riley asked. The way he saw it, it could be anywhere.

"Much easier to hide extra rooms and such below ground." Ian stated.

Ben nodded. "So, where is the cellars?" He asked.

"Pretty much all over the place thought beneath ground level." Ian smiled. "The cellar spreads out all over the place and reaches even further than the actual castle."

"Why would they make it that big?" Riley tried to imagine how vast the cellars would be.

"Partly because they could." Ian grinned. "The cellar here is divided in three different parts. One is more or less an ordinary cellar with not much to it. Then there is one beneath the kitchen that is the wine cellar and the larder. Those two is only connected by a small tunnel."

"What is the third one?" Ben asked, wondering why Ian had not mentioned thirst thing.

"The third one is accessed from behind the stables." Ian informed him. "Again there is a small tunnel to connect them, but it is blocked with an iron gate at each end. It was the dungeon, and it is a rather depressive place."

"Why would they keep the dungeons connected to the rest?" Riley wanted to know.

"The last way to escape the castle." Ian explained. "If it fell to the enemy it was a possible way to escape. As well as if the castle should catch fire it was one way to escape."

"Where would they keep secret passages?" Ben pondered as he studied the walls closer.

"One here and one in the master bedroom." Ian moved over to the other wall where a huge wardrobe stood. "They kept uniforms in here, but if you swing open the back panel of it you enter the secret passage. The two of them are connected, and they did lead somewhere else, but that passage is blocked by a cave in."

"That could be the only way to the treasure." Riley wined.

"No, there would be two ways." Ben shook his head.

"My guess is the main cellar." Ian said confidently. "Once we get down there I think you will see what I mean. I think that we will take the way over the kitchen cellar though, there is one thing I want to check in the wine cellar."

He lead them to the huge kitchen, the one where all festive dinners had been cooked, there was a huge fire pit in the middle. One where spit dogs would be trudging to turn the spits.

Riley was peeking into a cauldron that was so big he could have fit inside it.

"Must have been cooking an awful lot of food in here." Victor noted as he took in the size of it

"That's what you do in kitchens." Gregor scorned him.

"Not always." Victor went on. "I've seen Ian in kitchens hundreds of times. But I've never seen him cook food." He sounded out the word food carefully.

Ian took a long handed wooden spoon and chucked it at him. Cursing the fact that he had worse aim with his left hand than his right. Had he had full use of his right arm he would have hit him, instead it sailed to the side.

"See, he doesn't even know what to do with the stuff." Victor told Gregor as if to prove himself.

Ian glared at him. "Just so you know it Victor, I'm keeping a tally for revenge." He knew the threat would not scare him off. Victor was not easily frightened, and he knew that Ian would never do anything to harm him, but he was enjoying the opportunity of Ian being easy picking.

Then he turned from Victor and pointed to the corner where a wooden hatch could be opened with an Iron ring. It looked almost like a door sunken into the floor.

"The cellar is beneath that one." Ian pointed at it. "But we need some light. Gregor, check the cabinet over there. Before they used to keep some lanterns there."

"Wouldn't flashlights be better?" Riley asked.

"More powerful, but those are actually better." Ian nodded to the lanterns that Gregor was filling up. "They light up all around you in a different way."

Phil moved over to light the lanterns that Gregor had filled, a few minutes, and then everyone but Ian had a lantern and they were ready to go down into the darkness.

No teasing or mocking now Victor went first, Ian following behind him, it was a steep stair, but they did not have any trouble with it. Charlotte was carrying Ianna on one arm, and Phil was holding a steadying hand on her arm.

It was a bit chill and damp in the cellar and it split into two directions.

"Left is the larder." Ian said as he pointed into that direction. "Right is the wine cellar."

They could hear the scratching and skittering of rats as they walked, but none came into view of the light. The wine cellar was huge, with pillars to support the roof. It was several rooms, there were racks for bottles and for kegs. Barrels had been stored along the walls. Ian headed to the furthest corner.

Something gleamed on the floor there and Ben went closer.

"Look at this." He held up a medal of some sort that had been lying on the floor. "I wonder how it got here?" He said as he brushed the dust and dirt of it.

"It is what I wanted to look for." Ian smiled as he held out his hand to Ben. "It fell out of my rucksack the last time I was here. I slept here in this corner while I was looking for the treasure, then I went back here once more before I had to go home, and it fell out. I did not have time to look for it before I went home." He looked fondly at the medal. "I found it in one of the rooms, and my aunt said I could keep it, I was afraid I would not find it again."

Ben grinned as he watched Ian pocket the medal. He could see why Ian had wanted to see if it would still be there.

"You slept here?" Abigail asked sounding astonished by the information.

"Yeah." Ian nodded. "I had brought a sleeping bag and some food along. I was running all over the place, and this looked to be a nice place to sleep in.

"Still you slept here, all alone?" Abigail shook her head.

"I offered a girl who was here at times to go with me." He shrugged. "But she refused to go down here because of the spiders and the rats. She was really rather boring." He frowned. "Always afraid of getting dirty and would not go up on the roof either." Then he smiled. "I thought she would have a fit when I climbed down through the chimney."

"Hold." This time it was Charlotte who interrupted with a sound of disbelief. "What did you say you did."

"I climbed down through the Chimney." Ian took a step back as he was beginning to recognize that voice as dangerous.

"How could even you do something so stupid?" Charlotte rounded up on him, and he cursed the fact that one step back had him against the wall.

"I was up on the roof to get the treasure I had hidden there." He defended himself. "Then I recalled what I had heard about there being rungs for the chimney boys to climb on, I found them and so I used them to climb down through the chimney."

"That has to be the most stupid thing I've ever heard of." Charlotte said angrily.

"I've heard of more stupid things." Abigail intervened. "A lot more stupid things. I don't think you could top the list even if you tried Ian." She smiled at him, even if it was hard to tell in the light from the lanterns.

Before Charlotte could say anything else on the subject Victor touched her arm gently. Leaning close to her ear to whisper why Ian was paying attention to Abigail.

"Don't." He whispered. "He knew what he was doing most of the time, and he trusts you enough to let you know about it. He never tells much about his childhood. Just let him tell it when he wants to."

She nodded, but she still wanted to tell him of for doing such stupid things. In her arms Ianna wined, she seemed to know when Charlotte was upset with Ian, and it always made her upset. She tried to sooth her as best as she could, and then Ian moved over. Stroking her soft cheek and murmuring softly to her.

"I'm sorry Ian." Charlotte told him. "I just got so scared thinking of what could have happened."

"I understand." He nodded. "At least I think I do, but I never thought about it that way." Ianna yawned and hit Ian in the face with a small fist, then she went to sleep.

Ian rubbed his nose, it had not hurt, but he had felt it. "She loves to do that." He frowned. "I think that the connection to the main cellar was over there." He pointed before Charlotte got the idea to ask what more stupid things he had done in his childhood. If she found out about some of the things he had done, she would lock him up somewhere.

Phil took the lead with one lantern, they lit up the area around them very well, better than flashlights would have done it. He could have walked in front of the lantern, but it made more sense to have someone with a light there.

Phil pushed open a heavy oak door, and they entered a dark tunnel. At the other end was a small room, with a gate made of thick Iron bars.

"That one leads to the dungeons." Ian pointed at the gate. "I think that it was the only place where they did not want me to go, because when I asked for a key to the gate they would not tell me where it was."

"So you never where there?" Ben asked peering through the tick bars.

"I could squeeze through the bars." Ian grinned and shrugged.

Ben judged the space between the bars. "It must have been tight." He noted.

"It was." Ian admitted. "But I was curious."

Gregor walked over to the bars, passing his lantern to Ian as he walked past him. Ian held the lantern over to where Victor stood, and he took it without a word.

Gregor felt the bars, then he put his shoulder to it and pushed, it groaned and the old hinges objected, but it moved. It slowly swung open.

Ian ran his hand through his hair. "All the trouble with getting through the bars, and the bloody thing was never locked." He shook his head.

"It was heavy." Gregor grinned. "Must have been to heavy for you."

Ian nodded, he could not remember if he had just squeezed through without testing, or if he had been unable to push it open.

"Shall we take a look there?" Ben asked.

"Dungeons and torture sounds really creepy." Riley inched back from the black tunnel.

"I really don't think that there is anything there." Ian said. "Unless you count some nasty cells and even worse torture equipment."

"We go on then." Gregor did not seem to notice that Victor was the one who gave him back the lantern that he had handed to Ian.

There was another heavy oak door and then they came out into the larger cellar. A steep but broad staircase lead up to the main castle.

This part had another look over it. There were pillars to support the ceiling, and the occasional statue as well as torch holders and lantern hooks on the walls. This part was meant to bee seen by others than servants.

"Impressive." Ben admitted as he looked around.

"Creepy." Was Riley's opinion as he heard a rat skitter away into a corner.

"All old cellars tend to be creepy." Ian said comfortingly, both to Riley and to Ianna who wined.

"She's gonna make you carry her around all the time as soon as you can." Charlotte laughed. "She doesn't like it as much when I'm the one carrying her."

"Come here then." He could manage her now, even if it meant he could not do much else. He held her on his left arm and his right still wasn't good for very much else.

Ian could not recall any particularly part of the cellar that seemed more likely than any other. So they moved through it and tried to find the most likely spot.

"Hey, look over here." Victor called and waved the others over. He was looking at a wall where a the image of two knights had been chiselled out from the stone.

"Doesn't that kind of look like that picture in the book." Gregor asked.

"It does." Abigail ran her finger in the groves. "It must be here."

"Er, how do we get to the treasure." Riley asked as he studied the stone wall. It looked rather solid to him.

"There must be a trigger of some sort." Ben ran his hand over the wall.

Ian looked around, taking in the details. There was a few statues not far of. A women standing with her arms outstretched. A man to the side of her, and then there was the statue of a small child, and infant really, lying in a niche in the wall.

Ianna gave a cry for attention and he looked down on her, she seemed to think that she could not be safer than in his arms, and he thought about the riddle, the one that his great aunt had left in her will for him to solve. _The greatest treasure of all is not silver or gold, but a child of yours to hold._ He wondered why the child statue was lying in the niche when the women's arms seemed to be made for holding her child.

He went over and looked closer at it. It was not heavy, not more so than that he could lift it with his still weak right arm.

Ianna laughed and tried to reach it, patting it with her small hands and Ian laughed.

"What are you doing?" Ben asked.

"I've got an idea." Ian grinned as he placed the infant child in the other statues arms. She was holding her arms a little to high for carrying the child, but the weight of the smaller statue pulled them down to a better height.

"Is that it?" Riley asked.

"Nothing happened, there has to be more." Ben looked around as if he was looking for something else. Ian had a feeling he had already found it. He looked at the impressions of the knights on the wall. One of them had his sword in his scabbard, the other one had his blade bare at his side, and no scabbard.

What was interesting was that the size of his sword seemed to be exactly the same as the dagger they had found before. He had kept the scabbard to the dagger because he had thought it might come to use, it was still in his pocket.

"They swore to protect." He said quietly. "But only to protect, never to attack, so why would he have a drawn sword." He fished out the scabbard, something Ianna did not like because he had to move her around to reach it. Then he fitted the scabbard against the bare blade, the scabbard covered it perfectly.

He applied the gentlest pressure and slowly, very slowly a section of the wall swung open.

For a few seconds they all stood staring at the doorway that had opened, neither of them had been prepared for it. Ben, Abigail and Riley were really the only ones that had seen it before. Then as if she sensed that the adults was just going to stare Ianna gave a squeal and reached her arms towards the darkness.

A rat squeaked somewhere and there was a skitter of claws. It was enough to make them move slowly forward. Their lanterns lit up the first few yards of the room, and the light caught and reflected of various points in the room.

Phil held up his lantern high, and there was the first sight of a treasure. A suit of gleaming armour, a golden knight. One stood on each side of the door, protecting the treasure.

Ian found it hard to believe, he could not even take in the size of the hidden chamber, and yet it was here, where he had been looking for it the biggest part of a summer. He had slept not so many yards away from it, and never could he have believed what he would find there.

Their lanterns that had cast such a bright light before was not enough to light up all of it.

"Ow." Ian exclaimed, broken out of his thrall by a sharp tug on his hair, Ianna had seen what looked like a lot of fun toys, and she wanted to explore them.

"At least now we know who the boss is." Phil chuckled. "Looks like she's in charge."

"She is." Ian agreed. All his childhood he had dreamt of this moment, and it was his daughter who brought him to his senses so that he could enjoy it. Never mind that she had grabbed a large fistful of his hair, she had earned the right to tug on it. He took Charlotte's hand and walked deeper inside the room. Victor, Gregor and Phil joining up behind them, and then came Ben, Abigail and Riley. Never before had Ian suspected that a room of such immense size could be found beneath the castle.

"This is even bigger than the first treasure." Ben breathed as he held up a golden vase. "It is a lot bigger Ian."

"You'll want to look at this thing Ben." Ian said absently. He had found a stone tablet with and inscription on it.

Ben knew enough Latin to easily read the script. "It says here that the McDowell's were heir's guardians of the treasure, and protector of the order of the Templar Knights." He read out loud so that everyone could hear. "It was a legacy in the family and the male descendants are honorary knights in the order of the Templar Knights. The treasure falls into their property should there be no knights left in the order."

He swallowed several times, very well aware of how everyone was looking at him. "Ian." His throat was dry and he tried to work some moisture into his mouth before he tried to speak again. "Ian, according to this you are the owner of this whole treasure, and I'm pretty sure that it is even legal."

"No, wait. That can't be Ben." Just the sheer thought of the enormous amount of gold in the room made Ian sweat. People claimed that criminals were greedy, yet Ian had never dared to dream of a treasure of such magnitude. They had only been able to check one end of the room briefly. It was several times larger than the treasure beneath the church.

"It says so here." Ben stated. "This also said that this is the largest part of a treasure hidden away. One other part was hidden beneath Trinity Church, and it says where two other very small parts can be found, thought I think that those two has been found already." He admitted, and those two parts had not been a friction of a percent of this on treasure.

"But they always claimed that it was to large for one man?" Ian objected. "They would not do that."

"Ian, they made the McDowell's their guardians of the treasure." Abigail laid a hand on his shoulder after she had skimmed through the text. "I would like to study this more, but it also says that the McDowell's were guardians of the knights. Worked in secret to help ensure the knights safety. From what I can tell, they were all honorary knights. That would mean you as well."

"Wow." Riley was suddenly staring at Ian in something akin to fear, and a slightest touch of admiration. He had believed Ian to be the greedy kind of criminal, not the one who tried to find excuses not to be the owner of a treasure.

"That's something alright." Gregor mumbled.

"All of this." Phil shook his head. "And legal Ian, you've done it."

"No." Ian sank down on a heavily gilded chest. One most likely filed with something glimmering and sparkling. "It cant be right Ben. Look, it was stored here, stored. This castle is huge, but I can not in any way be the one responsible for this." He gestured at the treasure that was all around him.

"I just cant," he mumbled. Shaking his head and not even noticing how it made Ianna find one of his dancing locks to pull on. He could not comprehend the magnitude of the treasure combined with the stone tablet. The castle was big enough, and he had had a long time to get used to being the heir. He had never thought he would be able to be legal owner of it, but he had known he was the heir for almost all of his life.

"Come on." Victor said softly, helping Ian to his feet. Both he and Charlotte had seen how weary he looked, but for once Charlotte did not know how to handle it. "It'll all keep until the morning. We'll come back then."

"It's late, time to call it a day alright." Gregor agreed.

Abigail nodded and shooed Ben and Riley along in front of her. It seemed that Ian needed to come to terms with all of it, and he would not do that in the treasure room. Besides, she did not know how long the lanterns would burn. It still amazed her that Ian's men took so good care of him. The affection he and his men felt for each other was genuine, the same kind that was between Ben and Riley. She had been thinking that there was no honour amongst thieves, but what they had was something more.

She had expected nothing else than the way Charlotte held his hand, but Victor was flanking him as well, and he had a look of vigil on his face. The kind you had for a friend. Suddenly she felt as if she could understand more of how heavily Shaw's death had weighted on Ian, closer than friends.

No one spoke much, no one was really able to formulate words for the awe they felt. Ian kept shaking his head from time to time, as if he could not comprehend it. He glanced over his shoulder in the direction of the treasure room, and shook his head again.

Ianna decided that her father should not dangle all that fun hair in front of her, and not letting her play with it. Ian gave a yelp as she struck him beneath his eye with a very hard fist for such a small child.

"What is it?" Charlotte asked, afraid that carrying Ianna had been to much on his arm.

"She punched me." Ian gave his daughter a surprised look, she was laughing happily.

"Punched you?" Charlotte held up her lantern while Phil, Gregor and Victor sniggered. When he turned his head to glare at them Ianna was finally able to get a hold on his hair. He winced as she gave a hard tug.

"I think I know what she wanted." Charlotte tried not to grin as she saw what Ianna was doing, it appeared that she had learnt some tricks to get her will.

"Better than punching." Ian admitted, she was strong, very strong, his cheek throbbed.

"You know, that little brat's really good at distracting him." Victor whispered to Gregor as he allowed the other man to pass him.

Gregor grinned as he looked at them, half hidden in the shadows. "She's her fathers daughter." He grinned. "No doubt there."

"Come, I'll take her." Victor offered as they came to the stair, guessing that Ian would prefer not to be the one who carried her up. He passed his lantern over to Phil, and Charlotte offered a hand o help steady Ian. He really looked as if the stone tablet had been to much for him.

"I think that we all could use a good nights sleep." Abigail stated as they were putting out the lanterns, setting them on the counter.

"The bedrooms are all on the upper floors." Ian said as he rubbed a hand over his face. "There should be beds there, and they should all be in usable condition."

Ben did not feel tiered at all, but he agreed that maybe they needed sleep.

Ian lead them up the stairs, he knew what bedroom he would take, the one he had used as a boy, he felt as if he needed something familiar at the moment. The bed would be big enough for him and Charlotte, and Ianna would sleep in her wicker basket, she really did seem to like that one.

He motioned to a corridor where Ben, Abigail and Riley would be able to find some rooms to sleep in.

"Goodnight Ian." Ben said as he prepared to turn around, then he nodded to Charlotte and the rest. "Goodnight."

Abigail gave Ian a brushing pat to the arm. "We'll sort it out in the morning Ian." She said softly.

Riley smiled at him before he disappeared in search of a room. Abigail opened the door to a big airy bedroom with huge window. There was a big bed and some heavy furniture in it, all of it was dust wrapped, but once the protective sheets were removed it all looked nice and in perfect condition. Even the air in the room was fresh. She immediately took a liking for the room.

Riley took the room next to them, a bit smaller, and with a smaller bed.

Ian was able to find his old room with no trouble at all, and his men all took rooms next to it. Where they would be close to him should there be need, it was their protectiveness again, and not for the first time he was grateful for it.

They followed him inside first and looked around the room. The bed was a massive wooden thing against the wall. There was a huge wardrobe and a decoratively carved desk. One wall was lined with bookshelves, and many of the shelves were filled with books. Yet there were some odd bits and pieces on a few of the shelves. Feathers and pebbles, pieces of woods and crudely made airplanes. Ian recognized them, it was he who had placed them there so many years ago. It was an eternity ago, but it was he who had done it. It was he who had collected the pebbles, and it felt so incredible nice to see them again. They had been his treasure that summer, a simple treasure for a simple lad. One who had dreamt about a bigger treasure, a real one, with silver or gold. He had it now and it was scary.

"Come now, time to sleep." Charlotte pulled him to the bed having put Ianna to bed, Ian shook his head again as he thought about what lay beneath the castle. He said goodnight to the others and laid down.

Yet he could not sleep, it was as if the weight of all the gold kept him awake.

"On your stomach Ian." Charlotte stifled a yawn. She was tiered enough to sleep, but she knew that the way Ian was now he would lay awake all night, and he needed sleep.

"What?" He turned his head to look at her baffled.

"Role over to your stomach Ian." She rubbed at her eyes. "You need to sleep and I guess that it is your arm troubling you." Ian gave her a confused look but obeyed. She began rubbing his back, knowing he could have called the lie. He knew that if she really believed that it was his arm that kept him from sleeping, she would not be kneading his back. Yet she did not want to state that the treasure was bothering him. The lie of it being his arm suited both of them.

Even if he did not quite understand how she supposed that it would make him sleep, he had to admit that it was nice, he was enjoying the feel of her hands on his back when he drifted off to sleep.

Charlotte nuzzled the back of his neck and placed a soft kiss there before she fell asleep beside him. Ian had still not figured it out as far as she could tell, but it never failed to put him to sleep.

**TBC **

_Please review, the Cricket is hungry…._


	22. Chapter 22

22

Ian woke up and reached out his arm to pull Charlotte into an embrace, it did not work. It might have worked, his arm was now mostly strong enough for it, but Charlotte was not laying beside him anymore. He hated when she did that, it forced him to open his eyes and admit that he was awake.

He much preferred to just hold her close for a few moments before he had to get up. There was however no helping it, if he wanted to know where she was, he would have to look for her. He opened his eyes, she was nowhere in the room, that meant he would definitely not get to hug her before he went up.

What was more disconcerting was the room, it forced him to remember what they had found yesterday. What had been written on the stone tablet they had found there.

Ian sat up on the edge of the bed, the stone floor was cold, just as he recalled it. It was cold, and he would run down into the kitchen where the cook would scold him for running around barefoot on such a cold floor. Those had been the days.

He ran his hand through his hair and tried to focus his thoughts. There had to be more to it he decided, there had to be more to that tablet, something that Ben had missed yesterday, that made someone like Sadusky go in and take charge of it. Whisk the treasure out and tell him that he would be lucky if he did not have to go to prison for looking at it.

It was more or less what he had Expected, to have Sadusky burst in and threaten him with prison for having laid eyes on it. Sadusky did not care much for him, and that was an understatement. Sadusky disliked him because of what he had done, and did not think that he could ever do anything good.

He fought against the urge to drop backwards on the bed and pull the pillow over his head. There had to be something more on the tablet, or in the treasure room that would say that he had no right to even go near it.

He looked up as the door opened, hoping that it was Charlotte. Then he hoped that he would have more luck with his other hopes for the day, for it was Gregor who entered.

"How are you doing, Ian?" Gregor asked as he leaned against the doorpost.

"That depends on whatever you intend to tell me that it was just a dream or not." He said slowly as he looked at his friend.

"Sorry, from what I can tell all that junk we found downstairs is yours Ian." Gregor gave him an apologetic look.

Ian chuckled at the way it was refereed to as junk, it did help in some way.

"Anyway, Charlotte asked me to get you." The way he pronounced the word 'asked' made it clear that he had been ordered to. "She said she was just about to start making breakfast, and she wanted to make sure you were up."

"Yeah, but unless you tell me that Ben read wrong last nigh, I don't want to be." Ian stifled a yawn.

Gregor grinned and tossed him his trousers. "We got here together." He said as Ian was pulling on the trousers. "If you cant figure out what I mean by that, then your as stupid as me."

"I would say that you are not stupid." Ian mumbled as he pulled on his sweater. "But the fact that you not only allowed me to do this, but actually went along with me and encouraged me rather makes me think that you really are stupid."

"You bastard." Gregor glared at him.

Ian gave him a challenging look, daring him to call him on the insult.

"How's your arm?" Gregor crossed his arms over his chest. Ian twisted his wrist back and forth for a moment.

"Feels a lot better, hardly hurts at all anymore." He looked up at Gregor with a smile and saw how he nodded, he also saw that twinkle in his eye that meant he was up to something, and that he had not asked that question out of a general concern for his health.

"Good." Before Ian could figure out what he was up to, and he was usually a fast thinker, Gregor had knocked him over with a tackle. Pinning him down with force.

"That's for agreeing with me." Gregor laughed. "You're a bloody bastard, you know that."

"I'm the bastard?" Ian tried to twist out of the way and to throw him off. "You're the one who said it, I was just polite and agreed." He laughed as Gregor grabbed a pillow and pressed it to his face. Even if he was still favouring his arm he was still able to get Gregor off him, he was very ticklish if you knew where to tickle him.

After all the times they had wrestled, Ian knew very well where to tickled him. Gregor practically flew off of him.

"Come on." Ian rose from the bed and pushed his hair back with one hand before pulling on his shoes.

"How come the rush all of a sudden?" Gregor frowned all of a sudden.

"I've figured out how to take my revenge on Victor." Ian grinned over his shoulder. Charlotte and Abigail was in the kitchen. Charlotte preparing breakfast and Abigail was sitting with Ianna on her lap.

"Good morning." Ian pressed a soft kiss at the nape of Charlotte's neck. Gregor stopped by the table and stole Ianna from Abigail.

"How are you gonna do it? He asked.

Charlotte immediately turned around. "What are you gonna do Ian?" She asked with that commanding voice of hers, the one that always made his men tell her just exactly what he had been intending to do.

"Victor's been having to much fun." Ian grinned. "I figured that it is time for revenge."

"What are you gonna do?" Charlotte repeated with her arms crossed over her chest.

"I." Ian turned to face her with a grin. "Am gonna make him breakfast." Behind him Gregor burst out laughing.

"That's mean." He grinned. "That's really mean."

"So has he been." Ian grinned. "It's no less than he deserves."

"I don't understand." Abigail shook her head. She had heard all the jokes about his cooking, but to her it had just sounded like if he did not do much cooking. She had assumed that he was one of those males who had never been taught what a kitchen looked like, and yet he did seem to know how to hold a spatula. "How can that be revenge?"

"If you ask that, then you've never tried his cooking." Gregor chuckled. "He's not a bad cook, not even a horrible one, disastrous is close, but not even that cuts it."

"Bad yes, but not that bad." Ian gave him a half glare as he cracked eggs into a pan. Gregor laughed and Charlotte did not say anything, she just shook her head. Abigail thought that she was beginning to see what Gregor meant. Ian seemed to be doing his best with the cooking, he really did, and she had a feeling that he would not try to ruin it on purpose. Still, the eggs was sticking to the pan since he had forgotten to put any grease in it, and he did not see, to understand that was what he had done.

The eggs looked like a pile of massacred and cemented stuff, the bacon looked okay, and the sausages was just a bit burnt and cracked. Still she had a feeling that there was more to it.

"Who taught you to cook." She asked curiously as Ian cursed silently over something that was not going his way.

"I taught myself." He told her. "My parents were busy a lot, so I made my own food, and I still do not think that it's as bad as those guys says." He glared at Gregor who was sniggering. "But seeing as how they don't like it, it is as good a revenge as any."

"That's right." Gregor laughed. "We don't like it, and I'll tell you why Ian, most people eat buttered eggs, not sugared eggs."

Ian frowned at him. "I know that, I'm not some bloody fool. Who'd put sugar on eggs anyway?" He demanded to know.

Gregor doubled over laughing, as much as he could without crushing Ianna. He was laughing to hard to tell Ian that he had just taken sugar instead of salt. He almost pitied Victor who had no idea what was waiting for him, but if he warned him, he would not get to see the expression on his face.

Instead he helped out, carrying the plates out, and making sure he set the right plate in front of Victor. It was really amusing, and it was all he could do to keep a straight face when Victor nearly choked on the first forkful of egg. He forced himself to swallow and cautiously tried some of the bacon.

Gregor jabbed Phil in the side to make him look as Victor seemed to want to spit it out, then realised it would be very poor table manners and had to try two times before he could swallow, he did not even dare to try the sausages. They might look harmless enough, but Gregor was sure that they would not be.

"Don't you like it?" Charlotte asked.

Poor Victor in his belief that it was Charlotte who had cooked tried a bit of sausage, and his face made it clear to Gregor that it was possible to ruin sausages.

Ben and Riley had no idea what was going on, and they watched in total bewilderment and confusion. Phil was begging to catch on, and was trying not to snigger.

"Who made this?" Victor finally asked, looking at his plate as a man would look at poisonous dish, one that was wrapped up and looking nice, but still was marked with the deadly skull.

"I made breakfast." Charlotte told him with a straight face.

"I told you I would take revenge." Ian grinned happily. "I gave you fair warning."

"You made this?" Victor glared at him and gestured to his plate.

"Like I said, you were warned." Ian could no longer keep himself from laughing. "Though I did my best to make it all nice."

"There's pieces of bloody egg shells." Victor growled.

"It's hard not to get shell into the eggs." Riley had still not figured out what was going on.

"Not in the bloody bacon." Victor stood and moved threateningly over to Ian.

"Aw come on, Victor. You were asking for it saying that I would not carry a grudge." Ian chuckled, but he slipped out of his seat and tried to keep a distance between them.

"What are they doing?" Riley muttered mostly to himself.

Ben shook his head, wishing he could have the same kind of easy relationship, where it was allowed to play the fool like the two of them were doing.

Victor darting forward and bodily picking Ian up.

"If you break his arm again, I'll break your neck." Charlotte muttered, but she was still smiling at them. She was worried that Ian was not healed enough for it, and she had to fight the urge to yell at the two of them to stop, but she had seen how Ian looked only last night. He needed something like this, even if it might get him hurt again.

"It was fair revenge." Ian called out as Victor was trying to wrestle him down. Victor was not ticklish like Gregor, not in the same way. He was ticklish, but he could ignore it if he wanted to. The way to get to him was to get close to his neck, a vulnerable spot he had. Yet it was hard to manage it because Victor was very good at this sort of things.

"That's not revenge." Victor growled motioning at the table. "That's bloody attempted murder. Who the hell was stupid enough to let you near the stove?" He demanded.

"I did." Charlotte called out softly.

"What have you got against me?" Victor called to her and for a moment he was distracted enough that Ian could throw him off, getting to his feet and darting to get back to the table and relative safety. Gregor got to his feet as well, and he was faster, taking him down with a flying tackle, but making sure that Ian landed atop of him, even in a wrestling match after he had been the victim to Ian's cooking, he was not about to bang him against a stone floor.

"Give me some of that and I'll jam it down his throat." He told Gregor.

Ben to his surprise found that he was smirking over the fool play that was taking place, and Abigail was actually amused over it. Riley thought that it looked weird more than anything else, but it still spoke of the security they all felt with one another. There was no fear of being judged for it.

"Wouldn't bother him." Gregor grinned. "He's the only one who can eat it, try this instead." He handed Victor one of the small jars that was Ianna's baby food to Victor who was still holding Ian down, straddling him and pinning him to the floor.

"Good idea." Victor gave his best evil genius grin. Holding the jar with one hand and trying to force Ian's mouth open with one hand while Ian struggled to get him off. In the end Victor just poured an amount of it over his face and finally Ian was able to throw him off.

"If you are done, would you please sit down and eat." Charlotte asked, hiding a smile behind her hand. "And Victor, what do you think you are doing, that was really a bit much."

Victor glanced over his shoulder, afraid that he might have been a bit to rough with his friend.

"Do you want Ianna to starve when you throw away her food like that." Charlotte scolded and both Victor and Ian laughed as they sat down again.

Victor snagging the plate that had been sitting in front of Ian's place while he was busy wiping the baby food of his face with a napkin.

"Hey!" Ian objected, he was not quite fast enough to get his food back.

"You can eat that." Victor gestured to the plate that held Ian's cooking.

"Oh, behave yourself." Charlotte sighed with a grin. "There is enough for everyone without forcing someone to eat that."

"It is not all that bad." Ian objected, thought he took the other plate just the same. Victor had not seemed to enjoy it at all, so it probably was not very good.

"Was not the point with that that it would be bad?" Riley asked with a frown.

Ian gave him a grin. "The point was that he." He glared at Victor. "Doesn't like my cooking. But I did not try to make it bad. I would never cook anything bad on purpose."

"You'll remember that we did not let him cook before." Phil grinned. "It was not the fact that he was the boss and they don't cook. It was we who had to much self preservation for it."

Riley had noticed that Ian never did any cooking, and he had thought that it was because he considered himself above it as their boss. Apparently he had been wrong there.

"So, what do we do now?" Abigail asked as they had finished eating but still sat at the table.

"We need to get some more supplies." Charlotte stated. "Food for one thing, and I think we should get some better means of illuminating down there."

"How about a really long extension cord?" Ian asked. This was something he knew about, what was needed to make an effective job. "We get a cable, and then we can hook it up to some nice lights, we should be able to get sufficient lightening in the entire room that way, as well as the way there if we rig it right."

"Sounds like a good idea." Ben nodded. "So a few of us have to go shopping, all of us would just be crowded."

"I'm guessing that you'll want to go, Ben." Ian ran a hand through his hair.

Ben looked up at him with a confused look, why would Ian be so sure about that, and why was he looking so nervous over it.

"I figured you'd want your father to come here for this." Ian ran that hand through his hair again. "I'm not sure if the phones here are working, and the cell phones does not work to well out here, but there will be phones in the village."

"You would not mind if my dad came here?" Ben asked startled. He was not sure if bringing Ian and his father together was such a good idea. Whenever the subject of Ian Howe came up somewhere, his father usually did some fair amount of cursing. He did not have many fond thoughts over for Ian Howe, that much was certain.

In fact, Ben had not told him that he would be going with Ian, he had only told him that he would be away for some time. Because of the way his father strongly disapproved of his attempt to again be friends with Ian.

"I would not." Ian said softly. "I'm not sure whatever he would want to be even in the same country as me, and I don't blame him for it. But I'm sure he would want to know about this, about what you accomplished here Ben, and I owe it to him."

"I did not do anything this time Ian." Ben forced himself to admit. "This time it was you who worked out all of it. But you are right, I think that he would want to come here. I'll ask him to."

"We need someone who knows about legibility as well." Ian pointed out. "I am not sure whatever Scotland will claim ownership over it or who will. Do you think that Sadusky would know that Ben?"

Ben looked up at him with surprise. First of all, Ian was considering asking Sadusky, who carried a very clear dislike for him, and that was a surprise. Secondly it meant that Ian was denying what that stone tablet had said.

"I think that he would." He nodded thoughtfully. Trying to understand why Ian would do that, unless he was frightened by the concept, by the sheer magnitude of the treasure. A strange notion when considering Ian who was never frightened by anything, and yet he had seemed terrified yesterday.

Still Sadusky would know, and he would be able to confirm what that stone tablet said. That it was Ian's treasure, he had found it, and he had the right of owner ship over it.

Ian nodded and swallowed. "When you speak with him." He broke of, swallowing again, for some reason his throat was tight. "Leave me out of it. I don't want to be accused of having stolen anything. Leave me out of it, tell him that it was all your idea Ben. He will like that."

Now everyone was looking at Ian, surprised and baffled faces, all of them looking at Ian.

"It was you who found the first clue." Abigail said in a soft but commanding tone. "It was you who figured out everything, we were only along for the ride this time Ian. No matter how much I enjoyed it, we were only along for the fun of it. You did not need us, and if he can not accept that, then we don't need him."

"This is a Templar treasure." Ian argued. "He is the leading expert we know on that subject. Just don't tell him that I had anything to do with it."

"Wouldn't he know anyway when he came here?" Riley asked with a confused frown.

"He would. But if he knew Ben was in charge, he might listen if he was here. I don't think that he would be even willing to come here if he knew I had anything to do with it." There was a trace of hurt in Ian's eyes, the same that Ben had seen there many times now. Whenever Ian was judged for former crimes. "Please Ben, don't tell him now that I have had anything to do with it. If he comes here, if he sees that I have not broken any law this time. Then maybe he will stop thinking that I live only to break the law."

"You don't have to redeem yourself to him." Abigail stated firmly. "You were cleared on all charges Ian, he can not hold anything against you."

Victor gave a disgusted snort. Making it very clear that he did not agree with that statement.

"He's holding a lot against me." Ian no longer looked hurt the same way, but he looked more tiered Abigail thought, as if he had given up hope of something. "He kept checking up on me, he did not trust me to work in the museum, and he was not discreet about it."

Anger flared in Ben, he had not known that, Sadusky had not told him that. The man had no right to do that, little wonder how ill Ian had been faring.

"This will make him change his mind." He stated firmly. "I'll get him here Ian, and then he can see for himself."

"Thank you." Ian said simply, but the relief was clear in his voice.

They decided to get all the needed supplies before they went down in the treasure room. So Ben, Abigail, Charlotte and Phil went. Phil claiming that he should be along for the heavy carrying.

_**TBC**_

_Please review, the Cricket is hungry….._


	23. Chapter 23

Author's note: This is based on the movie National Treasure, and is to a great deal dedicated to the more than worthy performance of Sean Bean. I enjoyed the movie very much, but I thought that since Ben and Ian often used similar methods to reach the same goal, I did not see one of them as more evil than the other. I also thought that the hints of the friendship we saw between them should be explored more. I began doing that in 'Who Did You Say Stole the Declaration,' this story takes up a short time after that one ended, and is my version of what happened next. I hope you all shall like it.

Big thanks to LadyDeb1970 who have been going over this for me, and helped me with plot and story ideas. Also to Celebrion for being my beta.

Disclaimer: I do not own National Treasure. I just borrowed it because I like Sean Bean as an actor. I will return all characters in good and whole order, completely undamaged, if covered with a slight glue residue from having been put together again. I also swear I will not make any serious attempt at stealing Ian. More than I already have that is…

The name of Thomas McDowell have been stolen from LadyDeb1970, with her kind permission, as well as one or two other details.

/Elenhin

* * *

**_The Biggest Treasure_**

_**Chapter 23**_

Ian considered it to a perfect time to do some exploring without having the command of not doing anything stupid hanging over his head. He could even agree to take Riley along with them since it would be a shame for the poor kid to be left alone.

They had gone into one of the wings, one that Ian remembered very well, and Gregor was admiring the large fire place that stood there.

"Why did they make them so big?" Riley wondered. "Does it really make more heat?"

"You can keep a bigger fire there." Victor shrugged. It made sense, a bigger place for the fire meant you could have a bigger fire.

"Mostly for it to be impressive." Ian ran a hand over the smooth marble of the mantle piece. "But also for the chimney boys."

"Did they really use boys to sweep the chimneys?" Riley swallowed deeply.

"They did, and a few suffocated." Ian told him. He had done some light research on it when he was still in school. "It was mostly orphans that was taken as it. Because no one really cared if one or two of them got stuck in a chimney and died there. This one was cleaned by chimney boys as well, but even you could climb it without a problem Riley."

"How do you know that?" Gregor asked, taking a step inside the fire place and peering up the smoke stack. It did not look all that big to him, only dark and sooty.

"I told you I was up on the roof once, and I found the rungs in the smoke stack, so I took that way down." Ian informed him, sifting Ianna and considering handing her over to Victor since she was beginning to grow rather heavy.

"You climbed in there?" Riley looked back and forth between Ian and the fireplace. He thought he could recall having heard something about it, but he was not sure what they had been talking about, he had not been paying much attention to them at the time.

Ian nodded, holding Ianna out to Victor who took her. "That would be one of those things that Charlotte considers stupid." He informed Ian as he settled Ianna on his arm. "If your gonna try that again, you had better not do it when she's made us responsible."

"I was not intending to do it." Ian informed him. He had not been, at least not now, maybe later, to see how big the smoke stack really was.

"Did you always do that kind of things." Riley asked, giving Ian a strange look. "I thought that Dennis the Menace was just a comic book."

"We all have been raised different ways, Riley." Ian told him with a sad smile. "I was allowed a freer rein than most, and it does make a lot of difference. Ben's father seems to have kept a more watchful eye on him when he was young, he is thinking about the consequences more than I did."

"Did you ever think about the consequences to what you did?" Riley asked. For some reason he did not see Ian as dangerous anymore. He had shown some understanding that Riley had not thought him capable of, and it had made his stop being so afraid. Ian would not hurt him for a stupid question. Ben would give him that sarcastic look he was so very good at, and Abigail would frown at him and sight. Ian, he looked more amused. As if he found the curiosity a funny trait. Yet there was never any judgment in his eyes when he did it.

"Every time but a few Riley." He said now with a sad smile. "Sometimes there is no way to tell what will come from one simple action, and thinks can take a completely different turn. But it is only a few times where I have not thought about it."

"Like the treasure hunt?" Here Ben would have given him that look, and would just have said something sarcastic.

Ian gave him another sad smile and ran his hand through his hair, Riley was beginning to recognize that gesture as a showing of his emotions. "That is one time yes." He admitted. "One time was when I saw a bastard strike a child. So yeah, Riley, a few times."

"What did you do then?" Riley did not recognize having heard about that one before.

"I did not think about the consequences before I acted." Ian grinned teasingly and his men chuckled. Riley gave him a questioning look. "I got to mad to think any much about anything." Ian explained. "I could not stand by and see how a bastard was striking a small kid, a little girl, and he was hurting her. There was others there, and no one really bothered to do anything about it, made me mad enough that I did not care what they would do to me for it, but I wanted to show him what it was like, at any cost."

Many had stopped and stood staring, it was the first thing Ian noticed, the way so many had stopped. He followed the way they gazed and saw a brute of a man and a small girl. It would not have been a strange fact, if not for the fact that the man was hitting the girl as well as cursing her. She was crying, but Ian would have found it stranger if she had not been crying.

What made him furious was the way everyone looked, but no one moved to help the girl. He did not give a whit about what the girl had done, if she had even done anything, here was a man of three hundred pounds at least, hitting a small child.

Ian moved over with clenched fists, he intended to do something about it, he definitely intended to do something about it. He did not bother to give any warning, someone who would hit a child did not deserve any warning.

He struck, and suddenly the brute was more interested in hitting him than the child. He was drunk, not much, but his senses was dulled, and it meant he did not register the pain from Ian's punches.

Ian was to angry to feel much of the pain, oh he felt it, it hurt. It hurt like hell, but he was to angry to let it slow him down. The girl was still crying, and he thought about how horrible it was that such a small child would have to watch such a barbaric display, but there was no helping it.

The bastard was of middle age, having passed forty if not by much, he must have weighed about three hundred pounds. Ian was only twenty years old, he had not yet reached the two hundred pounds, he was still a bit shy of one hundred and sixty pounds, and it was a clear disadvantage. What worked in Ian's favour was that he was used to fighting back. He did not fight much, but it had happened. This brute, had only rarely encountered someone who hit back. He was used to striking those who could not fight back. Not an angry youth who knew how to make a hit count.

Someone called the police, and for once they even came. They were told to step away from each others, and Ian took one last punch because he obeyed whereas the brute did not. Ian had his reason for not wanting to become involved with the police. If he had to, he was not about to give any trouble, but hope that they would not bother to deal with anything more than the obvious.

The girl was still crying, and a police officer tried soothing her. Neighbours now confirmed that the man had been striking the girl at other times. He had been seen striking both wife and child.

He argued against the arrest, something Ian did not, and he was taken in more gently than the other man. He had to tell them why he had acted as he had many times, over and over again. In the end he was scolded for being rash, told that he should have alerted the police instead of stepping in himself.

"How many times would he have hit that girl before you came?" Ian asked. "One time is to much. No one did anything until I started fighting him, and I don't care what, at least I made him stop hit that girl."

Unfortunately for Ian, the man pressed charges on him for assault. It did not matter all that much, not since he himself got several years for abusing his wife and daughter. He also got forbidden to ever see them again. If he even went near he would be sent back to prison.

"What happened?" Riley asked breathlessly.

"Six months for assault." Ian ran his hand through his hair again, and rubbed at his chin. "You know I spent time in jail by now Riley. That was the charge."

"That's really horrible." Riley sounded disgusted. "You got to go to prison for helping someone."

"Because of the way I did it." Ian wished he could have found out what happened to the girl later. "They can't really encourage that kind of behaviour. Seeing as how I just went up to him and struck him. I guess that I could have handled it better, but I did not think about that then, only about how everyone was looking and no one did anything." He explained slowly. "He got locked up for several years for the abuse. I got six months for assault. Prison is hell Riley, it really is, but it was worth it."

"How could it be worth it?" Riley tried to picture six months in a prison, and it was a nightmare.

"He stopped hitting her." Was all Ian said. It had been worth those six months to know that the child was safe again. He started walking down the corridor, If he recalled it correctly there might be some interesting things on the attic. There usually was interesting things on attics.

Riley took a moment before he started moving himself, he had never pictured Ian as the protector of innocent children. His evil monster was turning into a protector and a hero. Would Riley have acted that way to save a child? No, he would have been to afraid. Would Ben have acted that way? No, he would have come up with some way to alert the police or something. It was Ian who stepped in, prepared to take any punishment for his rash actions, because something should be done the very moment it happened, and not later.

"Why cant you let me think that I had you all figured out?" He demanded as he hurried after the other men.

"Ah, but Riley, it is only fair." Ian laughed even if he neither slowed down nor turned around. "After all I had you pinned down as the gutless wining wimp, and I was wrong about that."

Riley stopped dead in his tracks and stared at him, had Ian just admitted that he had underestimated him? He thought he had. At least he was fairly certain that Ian had just given him some credit, and it felt really nice. He hurried after them as not to fall behind.

Ian was not a monster, not even close, not when you got to know him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When the others returned from the village it was the work for the rest of the day to set everything up. Arranging to get lights down into the treasure room was tricky work. Ben had no clear idea of how it would best be done, Phil was the one who took charge of it. To Ben it was clear how those four where used to working together.

They hardly discussed anything of what needed to be done, and the talk was mostly about other things, as if they did not need to discuss what they were doing. The thought had struck him before that he could see how it came that they had been efficient in their chosen line of work, but now he thought that they would most likely do well in any kind of work. Except for one thing.

They needed to work together, and there was not many all legal things where they could do that. Ian was the only one that could handle the high stake business games. Neither one of the other three would be able to succeed with that. Ian was smart, very smart, and when it came to those things he came close to being a genius. He far exceeded his men in intelligence, and yet they made such a strong team. One mans weakness against another mans strength, and a big gapping hole where Shaw should have been.

"You never saw his best sides." Ian said quietly where he sat baring the metal threads of a cable with a sharp edged thong.

Not to mention one mind reader Ben noted with a start. "Shaw never allowed you to get close to him immediately." Ian went on. "He did not like letting anyone close, you had to work yourself close to him."

"I though the two of you made fast friends." Ben said thoughtfully. He was mostly watching since he did not have any real idea of what they were doing. Not enough to just step in and do something.

"We did, in a manner of speaking." Ian said as he seemed to concentrate fully on what he held in his hands. "But not fast close friends." He compared the bared ends to each other. "I had to work hard to get close to him. I was just lucky enough that he gave me the chance to do it."

"He did not want you to get close?" Ben asked, that was what it sounded like to him.

Ian shook his head. "He made you work for it. Shaw did not trust easily, he had little reason to and he did not. Unless you made it clear that you wanted to get close he kept you at a distance. He gave me the chance because I helped him out of a spot of trouble, and he repaid me by hanging close by case I needed the favour returned. It was during that time, when he waited to return the favour that we became friends."

"Sounds complicated." Ben noted, wondering just exactly what Ian was doing.

"Who said it was easy?" Ian looked up at him with a half smile. "Was anything worthwhile ever easy Ben?"

"Sure, some things." Ben shrugged. Ian was opening a plastic box of some sort, and he was starting to connect the bare threads of the wires in it. Was this not that the kind of things you were supposed to let trained electricians handle? He was not sure if either of them counted as trained.

"I'm not so sure." Ian tightened a screw. "I know a few things that came easy, and I would just as soon have passed up on them. It is the other things that are worth the effort Ben."

He collected a few thongs that had been lying on the ground beside him. "Here, take these to Phil will you, he'll be needing them in a moment." He grinned as he saw Ben's baffled look. It was one of the easy things he guessed. Ben seemed very confused that he knew who would need the tools next, and it was such an easy thing.

Since he and Phil was doing the same thing, and they only had one set of tools, it was logical that Phil would be needing them next. Unless Phil had found something else he could use he just had to use the ones Ian had been using. Ben had a tendency to think that anything he did not know was more complicated than it really was. He did not like the idea that someone could figure out something that was above him.

That line of thinking was one Ian strongly discouraged his men off, it gave you nothing but trouble. The time when you were cracking a safe open was not the time to brag about how good at it you were.

He might be smarter than his men in general terms, and yet, how many times had they pointed out something to him that he had missed. Something he had overlooked because it was so obvious that he did not stop to think about it. Ian's mind usually sent him of in search for the more complicated solution, and the others tended to be more clear headed about it.

Someday someone should explain the fine points of leadership to Ben, because if there was one time you had to lead from example, it was when it came to these things. It did not take them long to get a crude but functional lightening all the way to the treasure room. In the treasure room, they opted for a few rather strong lights. They could be moved a fair distance if you needed to, it was the kind often used on construction sites, and they gave plenty of light.

When they turned on the lightning in the vast chamber it was enough to make Ian sweat. All that gold and silver glimmering everywhere you looked. Huge statues that would be worth a fortune because of their age if nothing else. Diamonds and other sparkling gems, he had never seen anything like it before. Not even a museum could compete with this. There were paintings as well, and there was a throne standing in a corner.

"This has got to be bigger than the one under the church." Riley breathed.

"A lot bigger." Abigail nodded. "I think that there is at least twice as much here."

Ian clenched his hands into fists trying to stop the trembling, he did not want Ben to notice how queasy it made him feel. He was supposed to be the criminal without feelings, so why was he the only one affected by it.

"More." Ben shook his head in awe. "See, the room curves." There was pillars holding up the roof, and it was obvious that it was needed. This room was huge. "The surrounding land to your estate is quite valuable Ian." He added with a good natured smile.

"Quite." Was all Ian managed to say as his throat tightened. The thought of how this room did belong to his estate was still just as frightening.

"Lets take a closer look at that tablet." Abigail suggested. "I think that Sadusky will want to know about that one when he gets here."

"Good idea." Ben went over to it, studying it more intently, from what he could tell there was no doubt about it. The treasure belonged to Ian.

"What did Sadusky say." Charlotte asked them, from what she had heard she would not care much about him. He seemed like a puffed up jerk.

"He said pretty much the same as my dad." Ben grinned. "That he would get over here as soon as he could. Dad will arrive early in the morning. and Sadusky said he had something to take care of first, so he will be here later in the evening instead."

Ian nodded, it was a two hours drive to the closest airport, and he guessed they were coming there. "Your going to pick him up." He noted.

"Yeah." Ben grinned. "He'll love to see this Ian."

"What do you think Sadusky will say?" Riley asked as he frowned at a vase he was holding, one made of solid gold, and with inlaid rubies.

"I think that he will say a lot." Ben noted with a teasing grin.

Riley agreed with it, he thought that something had moved in the vase and tilted it, peering inside it. Suddenly he saw light reflecting of a pair of small pearl eyes, and he yelped as a mouse ran out on his hand and up his jacket sleeve. He jumped back and nearly dropped the vase as he tried to shake the mouse of.

"Got it." A voice called triumphantly.

Riley had not noticed how anyone moved over to him, but there stood Ian with a small quivering mouse in his hand. He was not crushing it, but he was holding it in a tight enough grip that it could not escape, nor use its teeth. Riley took a step back from it and shuddered.

"It's just a mouse." Ian smiled. "It's the rats that are nasty."

"That one was bad enough." Riley tried to shake of the feeling of it running over him.

"He was trying to hide out there." Ian smiled. He was weary of the small but sharp teeth the little creature possessed, and he was not about risking them, knowing that even the small mice could carry bacteria, but maybe looking at the mouse when someone held it would ease Riley's fear of it. Though, considering the bacteria, he would wash his hands throughout before holding Ianna again.

"Look Riley, he's really not all bad." The mouse was quivering with fear in his hands. It was fast reflexes that had allowed him to catch it. As well as years of practice catching small skittering things when he was a kid. Frogs did not really care much to be caught, and so it took practice to be faster than them. He had seen how Riley hated to having small things skitter over him, and had thought to try and spare him the scare of having a mouse doing it.

When Riley still seemed uneasy about looking at it Ian laughed and walked out of the treasure room. Going a fair distance away in the tunnel before releasing the mouse. It might get back to the treasure room eventually, but it would take some time for it to do so.

"Thanks." Riley was still shuddering from time to time as if he was trying to shake of the feeling of the mouse, as well as making funny noises.

"No problem." Ian said softly, giving him a pat on his shoulder before moving on. He had seen a statue he would want to look closer at. He thought that it looked ancient Greek, but it was hard to be sure. As he headed over he noticed that Riley was following him.

"Are you interested in the statues?" He asked mirthfully.

Riley nodded eagerly and Ian smiled.

"Or are you afraid that there will be more mice here?" He asked teasingly, chuckling slightly at Riley's guilty face.

"Riley, to the mice, you are a giant. They will want to get as far away from you as they can. They are much more interested in running to safety, than they are in stopping to torment you."

"They are icky." Riley shuddered again.

"Did you never catch frogs and bugs?" Ian frowned, did not all children do that.

Riley was shaking his head so apparently not. He would have to make sure that he took Ianna out frog and bug hunting when she was old enough for it.

"I lived in a city." Riley said apologetically. "I was mostly indoors with my computer."

"I guess it's the difference in how we were raised again." Ian agreed. He was beginning to wonder if what he had considered a normal childhood really was all that normal. It did not seem to be the same as anyone else he had ever met had been raised. "Anyway, I doubt there shall be any mice in the statues. There is no good place for nesting there, unlike in vases which are perfect."

"Couldn't someone have told me that before." Riley vowed never to look inside another vase.

"I was right." Ian grinned. "This one is Greek in its design, thought I wonder when they were made." He recalled that Riley did not have all that great a knowledge of Greek culture. "See, these are statues of the god's Riley." He explained. "You have Apollo here, the sun god, and I think there is one for each god." He moved between the statues. "Yet this is no god." He said thoughtfully.

Riley looked closer to the statue, it looked like a man who had been wounded in some way, especially with the arrows sticking out of his body.

"This is Achilles." Ian noted and his voice was filled with admiration. "There are Hector and Paris, and those women is Helen."

"How can you tell?" Riley was not stupid, he knew what Ian was talking about. Besides, he had seen Troy when the movie was screening.

"Their names are inscribed on the base of the statues." Ian grinned. The statues were standing on square bases, and there was an inscription there, but Riley could not read it.

"It is however their Greek names." Ian explained. "Here is Odysseus." He ran his hand over the name on the statue. "It means that those were made after the tale about them were told." Ian grinned.

"Yeah, I kinda figured that they would not have made them after the movie." Riley nodded. "I like the idea with the horse thought. How they got inside the city using the horse."

"It was a good plan." Ian agreed. "Trojan horses have been used many times. There is a book written about prisoners of war who used one to escape from a German camp, and working with computers as you do, I am sure that you've encountered a Trojan Horse or two."

Riley thought about the Programs that hid another program and nodded. They were bothersome to deal with. He was very, very, not to say very happy that he did not have to deal with such things anymore. He looked at the statues, from what he had seen in the movie, Ian was the same kind of leader as Odysseus had been, the kind that cared more about his men than about himself or success.

They were in the treasure room until late in the night, once or twice Ben nearly cried out as he watched the antics of Ian's men. Like when Gregor tossed a crown to Victor, was he even aware of how much that one was worth, he might be aware of it, but still. Tossing a crown worth several hundreds of dollars, if not thousands, was frightening. On the other hand it could be argued that they had the right idea of it, nothing in the treasure room meant more to them than each other.

Then Ben was forced to call it a day since he would have to get up early to get his father. Ianna was sleeping deeply, laid to rest in a chest wrought of silver. Ian and Victor had made it snug for her. She was lying on Victor's sweeter to make it softer, and had Phil's over her for warmth. They kept close watch over her to make sure that the mice did not get near her, and she seemed quite content.

When Ian had bundled up the garment Victor had passed him, Phil had offered his own, and Ian had tucked her in, grateful that he did not have to give up his own sweeter, for reasons that he was not sure Ben would understand. He had one scar that he was rather self conscious about. The rest of his scars did not bother him the slightest but there was one he did not want anyone to know about. It figured that the one scar you did not like to see, was on your forearm, forcing you to see it every time you removed your sweeter.

He scoped Ianna up and handed back the mattress and the cover to their respective owners who proceeded to dress in them.

"Do you want me to go with you when you pick him up in the morning." Abigail asked as they headed up the stairs.

Ben shrugged. "No, I think that it's best if I handle this on my own. I don't intend to tell him much more than he already knows before he's here."

"I'm guessing he still doesn't know that I'm here?" Ian said softly from where he was walking behind them.

"I thought that it was best if he came here first." Ben admitted, feeling a slight bit uncomfortable. "I don't think he'll have anything against you after he meets you Ian, I really don't. He can admit when he's wrong."

Ian nodded, that was the image he had off Patrick Gates, but what if he did not think he was wrong.

"I wouldn't blame him if he does not want anything to do with me." He said.

"He's better than that." Ben assured him, he hoped that his father was better than that. He had always thought that he would be better than that.

Ian was not so sure, oh, he did not doubt that Patrick Gates was man enough to admit that he had been wrong, but he doubted he would consider himself wrong. Ianna yawned in her sleep and kicked Ian in the ribs. She was getting strong, she had started crawling if you put her on the floor, she could be quite fast when she wanted, and Ian had no doubt she'd soon be walking.

Now he shifted her so that his ribs would be safe from kicks, and instead took a punch in the face, what was it that always made her punch him when he carried her up the stairs. He tried to shift her in his arms again so that she would not be able to either kick or punch.

_**TBC**_

Please review, the Cricket is hungry…


	24. Chapter 24

Author's note: This is based on the movie National Treasure, and is to a great deal dedicated to the more than worthy performance of Sean Bean. I enjoyed the movie very much, but I thought that since Ben and Ian often used similar methods to reach the same goal, I did not see one of them as more evil than the other. I also thought that the hints of the friendship we saw between them should be explored more. I began doing that in 'Who Did You Say Stole the Declaration,' this story takes up a short time after that one ended, and is my version of what happened next. I hope you all shall like it.

Big thanks to LadyDeb1970 who have been going over this for me, and helped me with plot and story ideas. Also to Celebrion for being my beta.

Disclaimer: I do not own National Treasure. I just borrowed it because I like Sean Bean as an actor. I will return all characters in good and whole order, completely undamaged, if covered with a slight glue residue from having been put together again. I also swear I will not make any serious attempt at stealing Ian. More than I already have that is…

The name of Thomas McDowell have been stolen from LadyDeb1970, with her kind permission, as well as one or two other details.

/Elenhin

* * *

**_The Biggest Treasure_**

Chapter 24

The drive to the Village was very uneventful, Ben picked up his father, and more supplies. They surely ate themselves through a lot of food being so many. His father gave him some pointed looks over the baby food and the diapers, but was satisfied when Ben said that it was not his and Abigail's kid. He also promised that they would explain everything when they got there, because that would be easier.

It was easy to see how impressed Patrick was by the castle when it came into full view. Getting out of the car he stood there staring at the impressive building. He got out of the car and stood taking it all in. Abigail and Riley came down the front steps to meet him. Ian was inside, just out of view, uncertain about whatever he could do this or not. He felt as a small child about to be scolded. Charlotte stood a few steps behind him with Ianna in her arms, and the other three was flanking him protectively.

"I've seen this before." Patrick stroked a hand over the smooth stone. "I've seen photos of this castle, I recognize it."

"When dad?" Ben asked curiously.

"Your grandfather made me take him to meet some people called McDowell's once." Patrick explained slowly as he ran his eyes over the castle. "He wanted to talk with them about some treasure that was supposedly rumoured to be in a castle, they showed us photos of he castle." He turned to face Ben. "They were not really interested in those things, for all they worked in a museum, but they were talking with your grandfather. It was them who made me decided never to be so obsessed with the treasure I neglected you." He said softly. "They had a child with them. A boy of five, named Thomas, and it was a shame how they seemed to care more about their work then about the lad."

Ben swallowed, he was beginning to realise something, if his father had met a couple named McDowell's and they had a son called Thomas, then he was in truth talking about Ian and his parents, and this could not be good.

"The boy was only about five years old." Patrick went on. "And they just left him to fend for himself why they spoke with your grandfather, never bothering about what he was doing. I did not want to become that kind of parent to you Ben."

At that moment Ben wished he had told his father more, because there was no way this could turn out well, Ian would react to what had been said, there was no doubt about that. He himself would have been close to strangling the speaker by now, and Ian was even more sensitive over the subject because of what Ben had done to him.

"They cared, they cared a hell of a lot more than some others did." Ian's voice was cold with anger, and the English accent was thicker than Ben had ever heard it be before.

Patrick was staring at him in shock, he had not expected to see Ian there, and seeing Ian furious made him think about the last treasure hunt. It was really no surprise that it made him think that way, but at the moment Ben felt as sorry for Ian as he did for his father. That was more of a surprise.

"Dad." He said haltingly. "There is a few things you should know about this."

Ian took two steps outside, that was as far as he got before he wound up with his back pressed to the wall. Victor had not used any force at all, he had just calmly grabbed him and moved him over to the wall. Holding him against the smooth stone, behind him Gregor and Phil stood, flanking him, and cutting him off from Patrick Gates.

"No." Was all Victor said shaking his head against Ian. He knew that look in his eye. Ian was not angry because his parents had been insulted as such, but any bad words against his parents made Ian feel like a failure as a son, and he wanted to make it clear that it was his fault, and not his parents fault. Ian's sense of failure made him act in irrational ways. He was furious with himself, not with Patrick Gates, and he was more of a danger to himself than to Patrick as well.

"Didn't you hear that." Ian glared at Victor, who only applied slightly more pressure to hold him to the wall. It was a way to make Ian know he was cared for, the physical contact that he craved without knowing it. "It bloody well was not their fault."

Gregor forced himself not to smile to much, he loved to hear it how Ian's accent got so thick whenever he was angry.

"Thomas?" Patrick blinked and gaped with surprise. "You're Thomas, you're that child?" He sounded as if he could not believe it. "I knew they should have paid more attention." The last thing he said more to himself, but Ian heard it.

"Bloody well wasn't anything they did." He spat, not struggling against Victor, but pressing against his hold for the reassurance that he was there.

"Calm down Ian. No ones saying that they did anything wrong." Victor had suspected that this was coming for some time now. The pressure that the stone tablet had made Ian feel was taking its tool on him, and there was a limit to what he could handle. "Just that they could have done more right, and not even you can deny it."

"You didn't know them." Ian pleaded to Victor.

"No, I didn't." Victor shook his head. "But I know you Ian. They did that right enough."

Ian closed his eyes, he was shaking, he had heard to many people speak of pity about his parents. He had heard what a horror it would be to have raise a child like him from to many mouths. People who did not care if he heard or not.

"They loved you, they loved you a lot." Patrick said softly. "But they should have paid more attention to what you were doing then. What if I had gone back to see what you were doing five minutes later than I did, what if you had fallen on the stakes instead of beside them. You could have lost your arm at five years old, or you could have lost your life then." Patrick spoke softly, out of concern.

He could see he five year old boy in the man who was trembling in Victor's arms, and he did not say it to torture him, but to make him understand now what he had been to young to understand then.

"It was no suitable play ground for a small child, I'm sorry for saying it, but I wanted better for my own son than that. I did not want to see my child having fallen down from somewhere because I was to caught up in some treasure to see what he was doing. I don't think I've ever been as scared as when I saw how much you were bleeding then, and how your arm looked. I did not want that to happen to my own child." Patrick finished softly.

The child was sobbing, and no wonder, Patrick would have expected him to scream. His arm was hanging limp at his side and that deep gash at his shoulder was pouring out blood. Patrick knelt and pressed his handkerchief to it, trying to stop the bleeding. Thomas was on the ground beneath the wall he had been climbing, the rock that had been his handhold had broken lose and he had fallen.

_It made Patrick sick to see the sharpened wooden sticks that were driven into the ground beneath the wall. A way to show how it looked when you defended against invasions. If the child had landed on one of them he wouldn't have survived, and there was one not three feet away from where he was. _

_When Patrick had found out that the parents had just allowed him to run off to play he had gone back to find him, not deeming it a safe place to play in, he would certainly not allow his own child to play there, and Ben was older, more careful than this lad. _

He was sobbing, occasionally crying out if it hurt really bad while they took him to the hospital. The doctors there claimed that the child was lucky. A broken arm would heal, and fifteen stitches took care of the other wound, but he could have gotten hurt very badly in that fall, and they were amazed that he had not been more injured.

Now that Patrick looked at him he could still see that boy, Ian looked very vulnerable. It did not excuse some of the things that he knew he had done, but he could certainly understand more of it now that he knew who Ian was.

Charlotte had felt like stepping up to Patrick Gates when she saw Ian trembling in Victor's arms, and murder was one of the nicest things she had in mind. The main reason why she did not was because Gregor would lot let her. He halted her as she was made to stalk past him.

"No, don't." He hissed quietly. "Don't interfere. If you do the two of them will never sort it out between them, and Ian needs to hear that no matter how much he hates it."

"Don't you see how hurt he is?" She demanded furiously.

"I do." Charlotte gave a start as she noted the pain in his voice, he was suffering from watching Ian. "But he would be hurting a lot more in the end if we did not let him hear it."

Charlotte hated every second of it, and had Gregor released her arm she would have punched Patrick, but as it was she managed to refrain from doing anything hasty, like killing him.

It was Patrick Gates who stepped closer to Ian, and it was Victor who allowed him to get close enough to lay a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry about it all Ian, about what happened then, and what happened later. It was no way for a child to grow up."

He had seen how much the lad was left to fend for himself, even before he was hurt. He had seen the child feed himself in the museum. Eating sandwiches he had made himself in the morning, and eating them while pretending he was exploring some foreign place. He had recalled how his own son had been at that age.

Ben would be coming to him when he was hungry, expecting to be fed and cared for, not using an old Mickey Mouse watch to make sure he met his parents in time to go. The child seemed to be playing make believe the whole time.

The museum held endless possibilities for a vivid imagination, and the car appeared to be a space ship. He had been wondering if a child should really pretend that much, there seemed to be no room left for reality. He had scaled the wall he had fallen from pretending that he was an invasion force, and he claimed that it was the counterattack that had made him fall.

One thing he had been forced to admit, the child handled the trip to the hospital well. He got much praise for being very brave, and he was not complaining about what was done to him.

Riley had hidden beneath Ben as soon as he noticed what was happening, looking back and forth, as if trying to find a safe spot. Since there really did not seem to be any he settled for being close to Ben, hoping that he would be safe for at least some time.

Ben did not even notice the fact that Riley was seeking protection with him and Abigail, he was to caught up in trying to figure out what was happening. He had thought that there would be a violent reaction, but he had thought it would be on his fathers side. Instead, Patrick was one of the calmest ones.

The fact that his father had met Ian before was a big shock, very big, and he was still recovering from the impact. Yet with the course things had taken he would have expected to see Ian's men on the warpath, and they were only slightly calmer than Patrick in their behaviour, most of it being concern.

Charlotte was easily the one who was the most furious. Ben had no intention of getting anywhere close to her at the moment. It would be to much like suicide.

Ian made a move towards the side, trying to slip away from Victor and inside, getting away from the confrontation with Patrick Gates and the events from when he was five and on a trip with his parents.

"No, you stay here." Victor said softly. "Your gonna face this Ian." The only other one close enough to hear was Patrick, and he remained silent. "They wouldn't shun you Ian, and you know it. Just cause all of them other folks said no one would ever wanted a son like you, you know that's not true. They did good with you, but you are gonna have to admit that they made errors as well. They did Ian, cause all parents make mistakes. But they did nothing to make you a bad person."

"Let go off me Victor." Ian said choked. He'd had enough of standing in that accursed museum, talking about some artefact or another, and pretend that he did not hear what was being said about Ian Howe. Every curse had sounded through his head about as loud as an exploding volcano, and seemed to be written on the glass in front of him in about as bright letters. All the pity over the folks that had to live with the knowledge of having raised a monster like him. Worst, the ones that hoped his parents had not lived to see what their son had become.

Those had nearly broken Ian there and then. It was after those that he would wave the tour goodbye, and then stumble into the restroom and heave his guts out. Even so, he had to be ready for the next tour, and would have to suffer hearing the same thing again, only this time there was nothing in his gut. Only a gigantic knot that twisted and tore at the inside of his belly until the pain of it was so livid he wanted to scream.

He would never know how he was able to stand with a straight face and ramble on about ancient Kings while that was going on inside him.

"I failed them." Ian choked out, feeling as if something closed of his throat. "It was my fault you know. They died so they would never have to see what I became."

Ben heard someone curse quite liberally, but was not aware who it was.

Victor punched Ian, not a very hard punch, just hard enough to snap his head back. "Say that again and I'll hit harder." He said coldly. "Your supposed to be the brain here, not some bloody fool. Will you get it into your brain that it was an accident and that it had nothing to do with you. And that if your parents had been alive, they would have loved you every bit as much as they did. Now, will you get that, or do I have to punch you again."

At first Charlotte had looked outraged over seeing Victor hit Ian, but now she understood more of why he had done it. It was all a matter of how best to get the point across to Ian. Trying to just talk him to reason would have taken to long, so Victor had opted for swift and effective.

It was one of the last remains from the depression Ian had suffered before, one more thing he had to face and get over before he could recover from it fully, and one that had been very difficult for him to reach in order to face it.

The fear that his parents would have preferred being dead to seeing him and the man he had become.

"I can tell you one thing about your parents, they would have loved you no matter what." Patrick stated. He had recognized that pain in Ian's eyes, and he had recalled what Ben had said once, during the first treasure hunt. _"Maybe that's the real Gates family legacy, sons who disappoint their fathers."_ He recalled how much it had hurt to hear that. How much it had hurt to fear that it was the truth, that he had been a disappointment to his own father, and how it would mean that he had failed his son as well. Then here was Ian, with the same fear and hurt in his eyes, and Patrick could no longer feel the burning anger against him. Just sympathy for the man who longed for an reassurance he could never get. He knew that the lad he had meet had been orphaned later in life, he knew that he had still been a youth when it happened. He also knew what it could do to a child to lose a parent. Losing both in such a cruel way was something he did not even want to think about.

Ian had needed the reassurance that all those people had not spoken the truth. After having heard it so many times it had felt like the truth to him. Now he was slowly getting a grip on himself again. The punch had not only served to get the point across, but it had also served the same way as a slap serves to snapping someone out of hysteria. It made you more alert to what was happening around you.

As Ian was slowly regaining his composure Patrick stepped back.

"Sorry about that, dad." Ben whispered to his father. "We thought it would be easier to explain everything when you where here. I never thought you would recognize this place."

"I never told you about that." Patrick sighed. "I feel like I should have recognized him before Ben. He was such a lovely lad, and he could have been so much. I wish that his parents had taken a more active interest in what he did when he was young."

"Dad, there's more to this than that." Ben coughed and Patrick thought how he looked really guilty. "It's my fault some of it, I got him a job in that museum dad, but I never stopped to think about how he would be treated there." He paused and shifted his eyes to Ian before continuing. "They were really bad to him, worse than he deserved, and I never noticed. He did not say anything because he felt guilty about what he did, and I was to caught up in being important that I never noticed, and it was breaking him. Not even he deserved that." He shook his head and Patrick nodded.

"Many criminals in history tried to redeem themselves but could not because they were never given the chance." Patrick nodded. "I take it he's trying to. Is he succeeding?"

"Yeah." Ben nodded. "I'd say he is, dad. He's arguing the right to any part of the treasure. It was he who did all the work this time, he figured all the clues out, and the only thing I did was getting him hurt, and yet he was saying how it was I who had done it again. I think that he's afraid of being accused of having stolen this treasure as well dad. And he deserves a lot better than that."

"I've heard the talk." Patrick agreed, recalling what he had heard being said on the subject of Ian Howe. Some bright lad had even thought that Ian was responsible for the Sphinx missing its nose, and he did not even want to know how they had gotten that idea. "Not even I'll say that he was that bad. I've done some thinking since then Ben, I'm not carrying any grudge against him."

"I think that he would be the one with the right to carry the grudge at the moment." Ben admitted. He guessed that it was better if his father knew about this.

"I screwed up and he got hurt dad, broke his arm really badly. And he still does not want to admit that he did all the work this time, and there is a lot more things to it."

Patrick nodded, then he looked at the castle. "Since I know this place belonged to the McDowell's and Ian belongs to them." He shook his head, it was hard to think of the little lad named Thomas as Ian. "I would assume that you were able to get here because the castle is owned by his family."

"More than that dad." Now Ben could not keep from grinning. "It's Ian's. He is the legal owner of it now. It's a long story dad, but he's been the owner for maybe two weeks now."

"I don't care if it's long. I want to hear the full story." Patrick stated firmly.

Ben looked up to see Ian coming towards them, he looked utterly drained and weary, and he was hanging his head. "I think that we should take all this inside." He said quietly, almost as if he did not have the strength to speak any louder. "May I speak with you first?" The question was directed to Patrick who nodded, and so the others left the two men to themselves.

Even Charlotte allowed herself to be steered inside. She did not really want to at first, but after a comment from Phil that Ianna would most likely have woken from her nap, she went inside to check on her daughter.

Ian raked his hand through his hair as he could not think of a way to express what he wanted to say. This man had all the reasons in the world to hate him, and not one to actually like him. Realising that Patrick Gates was the man he had actually met once with his parents did not help either. It was only all the more reason for the man to despise him. To know what he could have become.

"When I heard about your parents I tried to see if there was anything I could do, but all I could find out was that you were living with some relatives." Patrick said slowly.

Ian nodded. "I made it look like that, I did not want anyone to find out that I did not, I could not stand the thought of foster care then. I'm sorry that I turned out to be such a disappointment, cause I remember that I've met you."

"I recall that time as well." Patrick said slowly. "Mostly because I got so afraid, but also because I thought you were a likable lad."

"If you want me as far away as possible, I understand." Ian said slowly, pushing his hair back with his hand again.

"I thought that I would, but oddly enough I don't." Patrick said slowly. "I think I see this the same way as Ben does now, I want to know what we could have, and I think you are worth trying to find it out Ian. I've done some thinking since then Ian, and Ben also did some kinda bad stuff. I did not think about it back then, but even if you were ready to steal the declaration, Ben did it."

"That was still my fault." Ian managed through a throat that had tightened again.

"I though of another thing that happened down the church." Patrick said slowly, it had taken a long time for him to be able to go over exactly what had happened then. "When that stair started falling to pieces, you saved me. I never thought about it then, but why did you not jump first, why did you make me jump before jumping yourself?" He had thought about that a lot since he realised it.

"I did not want anyone else to fall." Ian could not bring himself to say die just then. "Shaw, after, I just could not stand to think of anyone else getting hurt."

"Ben said you knew we would get out, and now I believe it." Patrick stated. "I saw how that thing was falling when you jumped, and still you put everyone else first, I also saw my son risk Abigail's life for the declaration. I treasure that document, but it's not worth the life of someone, and it could easily have survived the fall. I think that I owe you a thanks for saving me there. I would never have jumped on my own."

"It was because of me you were there." Ian shook his head.

"No more than because of Ben. I wanted to blame you for all of it at first, and I did, I blamed you even for the things that was not your fault, and I think I owe you an apology for that." He sighed as he saw how Ian still looked uncomfortable. "Shall we move past it?" He asked. "I would much rather see you as that five year old I know, thought grown. Shall you see me as someone who you once met with your parents?" He thought that it was the best way to start anew with Ian. Retreat to what had been before, much like Ben and Ian had done.

Ian nodded, he hoped that it would be possible. "I recall how kind you were to me then." He said softly as they headed indoors. "I thought you were very kind for an adult."

"I thought that you were a nice lad." Patrick said with a grin. He did not know why he did it, but for some reason he draped a protective arm around Ian's shoulders as they headed inside.

It took some time to explain everything to Patrick, how Ian had found the first clue, how he had told Ben about it. As far as Patrick was concerned, that spoke highly in Ian's favour. Most people would have taken off on their own, not many would have been willing to let anyone else in on it. He had to admit that he felt a slight admiration for Ian then. For being able to do such a thing.

He was very intrigued about the clues and how they had solved all of them, and again he had to admit that he admired Ian for figuring it all out. He was also very thrilled to meet Ianna. He was admiring the little girl with open awe, and it was clear that he was happy to see her.

When he was told about what had happened on the bridge, how Ian had come to be hurt from Ben's carelessness, Patrick gave Ian a worried look as if to see whatever he was okay or not. He recalled very lividly the time when Ian had been a child, and how it had been to go back and find that the child was actually hurt. To find out that he had been hurt just as badly after that shook Patrick up.

Back then Ian had been one of those children you expect might accomplish anything when they grow up, the kind that can decide what they want to be, and actually make it against the odds.

The odds had stacked up high against Ian, and still he was making it, not by breaking the odds as much as going around them. Ian found ways around obnoxious hindrances, he broke the rules at time, but Patrick would be the first one to admit that some rules was not fair to start with.

The other side of it had also been that the kind of child Ian had been was the kind who climbed mountains, and occasionally fell down from them as well. He had hoped that the child he had known would grown old, not die young in some reckless act.

After his parents death he had feared that the chances of the child living longer than his parents were slim. With no one to hold him back there was no telling where he would end up, and suddenly the picture fit. Suddenly he knew a lot more of what had changed Thomas McDowell into Ian Howe, even if he recalled that young Thomas had preferred being called Ian. Claiming that it was an easier name. There had never been anyone to hold him back, to tell him what would work and what would not. Instead he had been left to figure it out on his own.

When they took Patrick down to see the treasure room he had to admit that he was impressed by the illumination they had set up. It seemed they had done a more throughout job this time. Or at least taken more things into consideration.

When he came to the treasure room he could not even think, so breathtaking was it. Not even having seen the other one had prepared him for the view that now lay before him. That had been amazing in itself, especially with the lightshow. This was something different, but even more impressive.

"Dad, this is the tablet." Ben pointed to the stone tablet that he had mentioned, and Patrick went over to have a look at it. The way he saw it there was no doubt about it, every thing in the treasure room, was Ian's, and that legally. Though he did not even want to think about what the tax on it would be.

He was however fairly confident that Ian could handle it. If anyone could figure out a way to get the treasure working, then it was Ian. He was after all the closest thing to a financial genius a Patrick had ever known personally.

After the first treasure hunt, and especially after Ian had gone free with just the fine to pay, he had decided it was safest to know something about the man. Ben had kept it a secret from him that he was still working to find the treasure, and so he had never met Ian before that, even if they had worked together for two years by then.

His impression of Ian during the hunt had been that he was a man who would not stop at anything, not even cold blooded murder. Then Ian had gone free, and he had at first thought that the man would seek revenge. So he had used a few contacts to find out a few things about him. There was no record of Ian Howe at the police, thought Sadusky claimed that probably meant he had a criminal record long enough to be several tons of papers.

On the other hand, what he had found out, was that there was no proof that he had done something illegal. There was no particularly theft or anything that he was suspected for. Yet there were a great deal of legal high stakes affairs that he had been involved in. Many of them, and yet he kept a low profile. Low enough that he was not as well known as he could be.

Ian could have been a real time McDuck if he had wanted to, he certainly had the ability for it, and yet hardly anyone knew about him. It was just his name that appeared on all those affairs, and all of it perfectly legal, in fact, more legal than some other well thought off business men.

Ian Howe seemed to think about more than his wallet, he had ignored several affairs where he did not like the way of thinking of those others involved. He had at first been involved with a building company, but had withdrawn his support and money when it was clear the company was taking advantage from the more poor families in the area.

Instead, one month later Ian Howe had been involved with another company, one who sought to improve the outlook for those people instead of turning them out on the streets. That project had been quite successful.

There were several donations to orphanages, and Patrick thought that made sense since there seemed to be no family. Already then it had been clear that he wanted others to have what he had not had himself. At least clear enough that Patrick did not fear revenge. Ian did not seem to be the kind of man who took revenge in that fashion.

"You see why we need Sadusky for this?" Ben asked. "We need him to confirm that.

" He's not gonna like it." Patrick shook his head. "He don't like you Ian, and he's carrying a grudge because you got away."

"I know." Ian nodded. "That's why I'd rather not he knows I had anything to do with this, more than being the company to Ben. I don't want to be accused of having stolen anything, or done anything illegal. I don't want Charlotte to get any trouble from him because she knows me, and I'm considering getting out of his way." He turned to Ben. "We could bail out Ben, keep away for as long as he's here, and he would not have to know about it." Before he had hoped to redeem himself in Sadusky's eyes, but now he was beginning to suspect that it could not be done.

"No Ian, he's just gonna have to accept that it was you this time." Ben told him.

"You're not going anywhere." Phil crossed his arms over his chest. "See here, you've done something good, and we're gonna ask Ben here to make sure he knows that."

"And if he doesn't want to see that, then bummer for him." Victor grinned. "Cause I'm sure that Charlotte would tell him a thing or two."

Ian shook his head, when those three were against him, he might as well give up.

"I'm gonna stay out of the way until I know he wont have me arrested at sight." He told Ben thought with a grin to soften the words.

"And I'll make sure that he does not arrest you." Ben grinned back. "He said he would get here on his own, and he should be here in an hour or two."

"Then we'd better get something to eat." Abigail noted. "Or we wont get the chance for who knows how long."

"Finally." Riley was unable to restrain his enthusiasm and headed for the door, he was hungry.

"Phil, will you help?" Charlotte asked. She did not care any about that crap where they said that it should be fair and dived so that the men did not always get out of doing the domestic work. The thing was that she, Abigail and Phil where the best cooks in the gang. She was definitely not letting Ian give it an attempt now, if Sadusky found out about it he would have him arrested for attempted murder again.

Phil went after Charlotte and Ian took Ianna from her. He was still having difficulties holding her for any extended time, but if Charlotte was going to cook, she did not need the little one to keep track of as well. Ianna had started trying to figure out certain things, like sitting up, and crawling around. She had escaped the blanket she had been laid on in the kitchen and crawled out into the middle of the floor instead. Ian had seen her just as she went under the kitchen table and scoped her up.

"Would you like to see more of the place?" He asked Patrick, they had not gotten to showing him around him yet. In fact, his two suitcases would still be standing just inside the door. "There are several rooms on the second floor, I'm guessing that you'd want to be close to Ben and Abigail."

"I don't care much about that." Patrick looked around in the great hall, taking in the staircase and with the banister. "I never thought that I would get to stay in a place like this." It was so impressive, he really loved it.

"I'm still trying to work out everything's that happened." Ian gave him a sheepish grin. "We have not been around all that much either, so there is still some exploring to do."

"I'm glad that it is still in the same family." Patrick smiled as he saw a very impressive crystal chandelier hanging inside an open door. It appeared to be a rather large dinning room, or common room of some kind.

Ian looked at him, and the, 'even if it's me?' Hung unsaid in the air between them. Patrick gave a small nod and Ian looked relieved.

It had been stormy outside the castle before, and now when it had calmed it seemed that Ian and Patrick would interact smoothly with each other.

"Now that's ugly." Riley said wrinkling his nose against a painting that hung in the hallway. This particularly corridor was a gallery where the portraits showed who had been living in the castle.

Riley had seen a painting of a man who had the always popular old dead and rotten fish look over him. Dressed in the finest velvet and covered with expensive jewellery, he did not give an impressive appearance. In fact Ian was willing to agree with Riley on the subject.

"Careful his ghost doesn't come back to haunt you for saying that." Gregor grinned.

"There are no ghosts." Riley said, swallowing just the same.

"Oh, but there are ghosts." Victor assured him with a big grin, in the meantime Phil was sneaking off behind Riley, it was clear to everyone who could see him doing it that the three of them had a plan. While Gregor and Victor was making him nervous about tit, Phil was preparing to scare him.

Ben could see it, but decided to let things take their course, they would not harm Riley, and a scare would not hurt him. In fact he thought that it was good that they were willing to include him in their joking and fooling around, even if it was as a victim.

Ian saw what was happening and as far as jokes went, it was a good one, yet he wanted to modify the plan. Riley had behaved good, and should not be made fun of for it, Ben on the other hand was starting to look a bit to smug about it.

Patrick noted how Ian caught Phil's eye and gave an almost invisible shake of the head. A glance towards Ben, and things was starting to take different turn.

"Aye, see, there are many kind of ghosts." Victor went on. "Not the kinds that rattle chains, those are made up, but where do you think that people got the idea from, there are other ghosts." In the meantime Gregor, having seen the exchange between Phil and Ian had caught on to the new plan. He used Victor as a distraction to get in behind Ben.

It was masterful Patrick thought, not one word had passed between them. Yet Ian had changed the outcome, so attuned where they to each others that they did not need to speak to know what the other wanted them to do.

In his nervousness Riley kept glancing between Ian, Ben and Patrick, that was when Ian caught his eye. Riley could not read him as Phil could, but the tiniest nod towards Ben made Riley take a second look.

As Phil made it clear that he was ready to make the scare, Gregor made use of the fact that Ben was giving them his undivided attention, and let of a ghastly howl behind Ben. Ben had been waiting for something, but something so different that he still jumped high.

Riley laughed at the startled expression on his face. Even Patrick could not help but laugh. He did consider Ben a better receptionist of the prank than Riley had been. Ian was chuckling mirthfully and the other three was laughing. Another successful prank played.

"You take good care of Riley." Patrick noted to Ian as they moved on.

"He's a good kid." Ian shrugged. "He needs to grow up some, learn when to keep his mouth shut and how you keep a low profile, but he deserves the chance to learn that."

"I think you can teach it to him better than Ben can." Patrick nodded.

"I had to learn it for another reason than Ben." Ian said ruefully shifting Ianna in his arms. He was considering asking one of the others to take her for a moment. She was looking as if she was waking up, and holding her then would be more difficult.

"May I hold her a little?" Patrick asked, he had noted both the love Ian had for his daughter, and how he had to shift her at times because of his arm. He had not been sure if Ian would trust him that much, but he also adored the little girl.

"Don't let her pull your hair." Ian grinned as he handed her over. As far as he was concerned there was not the slightest danger in allowing Patrick to handle her. Yet he could read that hint of surprise in his eye.

He gave Patrick a warm and reassuring smile, he did recall how kind Patrick had been to him when he was a child. He would trust him with his daughter any day.

Patrick cradled the baby girl closely, and his look to Ian said that he understood.

Ben was not sure over what exactly was going on, but his father and Ian seemed to get along very well, and that was really all that mattered, especially since Sadusky would be coming.

_**TBC**_

_**Please review, the Cricket is hungry….**_


	25. Chapter 25

Author's note: This is based on the movie National Treasure, and is to a great deal dedicated to the more than worthy performance of Sean Bean. I enjoyed the movie very much, but I thought that since Ben and Ian often used similar methods to reach the same goal, I did not see one of them as more evil than the other. I also thought that the hints of the friendship we saw between them should be explored more. I began doing that in 'Who Did You Say Stole the Declaration,' this story takes up a short time after that one ended, and is my version of what happened next. I hope you all shall like it.

Big thanks to LadyDeb1970 who have been going over this for me, and helped me with plot and story ideas. Also to Celebrion for being my beta.

Disclaimer: I do not own National Treasure. I just borrowed it because I like Sean Bean as an actor. I will return all characters in good and whole order, completely undamaged, if covered with a slight glue residue from having been put together again. I also swear I will not make any serious attempt at stealing Ian. More than I already have that is…

The name of Thomas McDowell have been stolen from LadyDeb1970, with her kind permission, as well as one or two other details.

/Elenhin

_**The Biggest Treasure**_

25

Sadusky stepped out of the car and looked around, taking in the castle entrance and the general lay of the land. Ben and Abigail had gone out when they heard the car, together with Patrick. This time they had opted for Riley remaining inside. He and Ian was about as nervous as each other.

Charlotte had taken Ianna, afraid that the nervous father would upset the daughter.

"Well?" Sadusky crossed his arms across his chest. "What's going on here?"

"Er." Ben cleared his throat. "We found a bigger part of the treasure." He said. "The biggest part that was hidden in one place. It's here."

"Where here exactly is it." Sadusky tipped his head slightly sideways as he smiled confidently.

"In a hidden cellar beneath the castle." Ben explained. "I thin it would be easiest if you came with us and took a look."

"I think so as well." Sadusky followed them, smiling confidently to himself. The first treasure had been very good for his career. The only down side had been the bastard Ian Howe. He had been so sure he would get him into prison for life. The theft of the Declaration would have ensured that. Never mind the technicality that it was in reality Gates who had stolen the document.

Howe had done more damage upon entering, but nothing that they could prove. So when Gates withdrew the accusation they had not had enough on Howe to get him. Instead of life behind bars he had gotten away with a fine.

It was his the one failure in his carer. Sure, there had been others that had bargained themselves to lower punishment, and even gone free. He made deals with criminals all the time. He had made the deal with Gates, someone had to go to prison, for Sadusky had been standing there in front of all those people, and they had seen him trying to figure out what had happened. If no one went to prison, then they would never know that he had done his job. Gates had brooked the deal, and Howe had seemed like the bigger criminal. So in the end when Gates had been sitting there with the declaration in his hand, the treasure in the room beneath them, and told him how to get to Howe, he had decided that it would be Howe who went to prison.

The declaration had been the bargaining chip that tipped the scale in Gates' favour, even if the man had not meant it as such.

One dead body at the bottom of the shaft, something that Sadusky could not care little enough for, and four live bodies whom should never be able to get out of jail for as much as one second for the rest of their lives.

Howe had gotten himself out of that, and it was one thing that he could not accept. If Howe ever stepped out of line, Sadusky would be there and make sure he paid for it, and then there would be no soft hearted Gates top help him get out of it.

He would feel a lot better about that whole treasure hunt when he knew that Howe was serving life in the iron pen. The founding fathers knew the man had deserved it, and Sadusky would be damned if he allowed him to weasel out of it a second time.

He followed Gates down into the cellar, and he had never expected such a sight as the treasure that lay before him. It was amazing. However he refused to show how stunned he was by the sight and gave it a scrutinizing look.

"See." Ben said eagerly. "We found some new clues, and they led us here, and this is what we found."

"Impressive." Sadusky admitted, there was no way to deny that, not that he even wanted to.

"And over here is the tablet." Ben showed him the now quite famous stone tablet, Sadusky gave it a throughout study for some time.

"Whoever is the last McDowell would also be the legal owner of this." He agreed when he was done. "Thought I'm sure the Scottish government would want a say in it. Most likely they would want to make a deal about what shall happen. But this McDowell would be a very wealthy man, especially if he was also the owner of the castle as you say."

"He is." Ben assured him. "Her inherited the castle, it's a rather complicated story, but he is the legal owner of the castle, and now it looks as if he is the last owner of the treasure as well. And if I read that correctly, he'll also have the title of honorary knight."

"Yeah." Sadusky agreed. "It would seem like it." He turned to face Ben, hands on his back. "Would he happen to be here, Mr Gates?"

"He is." Ben admitted. "See, this is rather complicated."

Sadusky snorted. "You have no idea of how complicated." He stated. "If Howe finds out about this, we are going to have trouble. I hope you've kept quiet about this."

"Oh, very quiet." Ben nodded eagerly as they all headed up the stairs again. "But you see, Ian already knows about this."

Sadusky just stopped in the kitchen and turned to face them. "Howe knows about this?" He asked astonished. "Have you any idea what he'd do to get to a treasure like this one. He'd kill you all without a second thought."

Had Patrick had any doubts about Ian and whatever he was really worth a second chance or not then, he did not have it anymore. Not after he saw Ian in the doorway behind Sadusky, and saw how hurt he looked, the pain in his eyes made him look so vulnerable.

"He would not do that." Abigail said, and the fire in her voice surprised even herself. "Ian would never do something like that, and he's the one who you've got to thank for finding this treasure to start with."

"Howe, would shoot you all, the very moment he saw that treasure room." Sadusky insisted. "He would sell and destroy every single piece of it to make himself a few dollars."

Charlotte was rueing the fact that there was still no way to glare actually solid metal daggers, she would have settled for the cartoon ink ones if they had been possible, but she had no luck at all with it.

Yet it was Ian who spoke. "I know that's what you think of me Sadusky, but your wrong. As you can see they are all alive."

Sadusky spun around as fast as if Ian had killed someone behind his back. "Howe." He glared. "How have you gotten in here, Howe? I'll get you on trespassing and threats. Attempted theft."

"You cant do that." Patrick stated. Even if he still had to admit in all honestly that he had believer Ian capable of all that before, he did not care for the way Sadusky spoke. "He's not done anything."

"I don't know what he did to get away the last time, but he's not getting away this time." Sadusky said angrily.

"I haven't done one single illegal thing since the last time we saw each other." Ian said slowly, calmly.

"You have no right to be here." Sadusky growled. "I'll have you behind bars Howe."

"No, you'll listen." Patrick said.

"Ian's the one you've got to thank for finding this." Ben went on. "He's the one who figured out every single clue this time. I even made things worse."

"You are going to hate me for this Sadusky." Ian sighed. "But there is nothing you can arrest me on, and you'll hate me even more in a moment, but I might as well tell you know. You were right when you said that Howe was an alias, I added it to my real name, and took that out of use." He was not good at explaining this, so he tried to do it about the same way he had done it to the others. "My given name's Ian Thomas McDowell."

He waited for the explosion, but Sadusky was to shocked for it.

"I'm sorry Sadusky, but that's the way it is." Ian shrugged.

"You are lying Howe, I don't know how, but this is all a scam of yours." Sadusky burst out.

"No, it's the truth." Charlotte stated. "I was there when the lawyers confirmed it. You had better start behaving yourself Sadusky." She was angry enough to consider assault on him worth a few years in prison. The other three men looked as if they were thinking the same thing. Riley was looking quite scared, and was edging in behind Ian for protection. Ben, Abigail and Patrick was mostly looking disappointed.

Clearly they had expected more from Sadusky.

"Look." Ben said trying to reason with him. "We did not say anything before, because we knew you would not like it, but it is Ian who found this treasure. He's the one who worked out all the clues, he's the one who found the first one, and he is the one that tablet speaks about. What I'm beginning to think that you'll never understand is that he's not a thief or a murderer."

"And when did you understand that?" Sadusky challenged, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I can't listen to more of this." Ian choked out and turned his back on them.

Ben watched as Victor grabbed his arm and led him out of the kitchen, Charlotte at his side, Phil and Riley flanking them. Gregor only pausing to glare at Sadusky before following. When had he understood that? Not when he promised Ian he'd change his testimony. He thought he had when he ripped that paper Ian had given him then. Yet he probably had not until he had seen Ian come there in the waiting room, bruised and in pain, and with his arm cast enclosed and in the sling. That was when he had realised how easy it is to hurt someone else, even if you don't mean to. Ian had suffered more from him than he had from Ian. He recalled it when Ian had been so depressed it had nearly destroyed him.

He had not meant for any of it, and yet Ian had suffered so much because of him. That was when he realised that it might have been the same way for Ian. He never meant to hurt anyone either, but things had spun out of his control.

Now Ian had been hurt again by the words that were spoken, and maybe by the ones that were not spoken as well. Cause Ben could have spoken a reassurance for him.

"At least I did understand it." He said. "Sadusky, there are real criminals to arrest, real bad guys. Why chase after the ones who took one or two bad turns along the way."

"He should have gone to prison." Sadusky pointed at the doorway where Ian had been standing.

"So should the ones who left a fifteen year old kid fend for himself the day he was orphaned." Abigail challenged. "The ones who weaselled out of the responsibility when two of their employees died in an accident because of faulty equipment. They went free, why should not he go free."

"That has nothing to do with this. That is a dangerous felon, he needs to be locked away for the safety of all." Sadusky insisted. "Do you want your children to be safe, or do you want men like him around?"

"With men like Ian around I think my children would be safe." Ben shook his head.

"Mr, Gates." Sadusky turned to Patrick. "How can you allow this, how can you stand there and know that the man who kidnapped you, threatened you and attempted to murder you is free?"

"I thought about what it was he really did." Patrick said slowly. Yes, there was a few things he still had to come to terms with, but he had forgiven Ian for it. "I would have done most of those things myself if I had been in his position, and what do you expect when you leave young kids without any example? You cant just leave a young kid to learn everything on his own, and then blame him for what goes wrong. When will you take your responsibility."

"What are you talking about?" Sadusky shook his head. "You have a murderer in this very house."

"And a hypocrite in the kitchen." Abigail muttered.

"I thought that you would be able to understand this." Ben shook his head ruefully. "I really thought you would be able to understand this, but I guess I was wrong."

"If I contact my colleagues one of them must know someone who can actually help us with this." Abigail muttered.

"We wanted you to come here because we wanted you to know that Ian's not what you thought." Ben tried to explain vainly. "He even tried to make us take all the credit for it, because he was afraid you'd never think he had done it honestly. He was ready to deny his right to any of this because he thought it was to much. And I though that no one would condemn him. If you cant accept that Ian can be an honourable man, then I'm sorry for dragging you over here for nothing, but I failed Ian before, I wont again."

"Keeping your word to a murderer and thief is insane." Sadusky raged angrily.

"No." Ben shook his head. "Or maybe, yes, it is. But I'm not doing that, because Ian is neither, and I never really promised him any such thing. I just owe it to him because of what I did to him."

"If you can not accept that, then I think we'd rather ask someone else about this." Abigail said softly.

"I'm not gonna having anything to do with him until I stick him in jail." Sadusky stated. "And I will get him there, I know his type, he could not have pulled of something like this the legal way. I'll find out what he did, and he'll pay for it." Sadusky spun around and left.

Ben did not care, he had expected more of him, he had expected Sadusky to be better than that, and he was not a little disappointed.

Abigail was looking after him. "You know, I'm beginning to understand Ian's point of view more and more." She stated thoughtfully. "Make one mistake and get people like that after you, how do they think that anyone would be able to amend themselves after that."

"They might as well brand them." Patrick snorted. "Or take up the practice of cutting their hands off again, it would be just as compassionate."

"I wish I had never agreed to bring him here." Ben shook his head. "At least he confirmed what we thought about that tablet thought. Ian's a knight, or as close to one as it is possible these days, and he owns the treasure."

"They wont let him keep all of it." Abigail shook her head. "Most likely they will negotiate with him, let him keep a fraction, or they will give him a percentage of it in finders fee."

"Like they did with us." Ben nodded. "Most likely." "They found the others in the dinning room. Ian sitting in a far off corner and playing with Ianna. Charlotte was looking furious, thought Ben had grown to expect that. She was fiercely protective of Ian. In a way it was odd to see the shorter women be so protective of a man who looked as big and strong as Ian, but everyone ha their vulnerable spots.

Ian was clearly nearing the limit of what he could handle emotionally, for he had used Ianna to shut himself off from the others completely. This was when Shaw would have slipped over to him silently, hunched down beside him and said something so softly that the others never heard what it was. Ian would tilt his head towards him ever so slightly. Leaning closer to receive the support his best friend offered.

It was so easy for Shaw, he always knew just what to say, and Ian leaned closer, a faint smile at the corner of his lips, even if his eyes still held the same hurt and pain. An attempt to put it behind him. Shaw would smile at him, that warm and comforting smile he could offer so easily if he wanted to. A strong but gentle hand on Ian's shoulder, and the pressure of his arm against his back. Ian leaning forward again, a last attempt to hide away while he fought to compose himself.

Then as he was able to get a grip on himself, again face the world. Then that arm that had been pressing against his back would use the hand on his shoulder to pull him towards him for a half hug. The kind both men felt comfortable with.

Now Ian leaned against him, seeking himself deeper into that hug.

"I miss him." He whispered.

Victor nodded, he did not know what to say as Shaw did. He could not offer that comfort, not the same way Shaw would have done it, but he would give whatever he could.

"He should have been here, Victor. He should have been here." Ian choked and leaned closer to him. Ianna was half sitting in his lap and looked up at him, blinking with curious eyes, not able to understand why her father was so sad.

"It wasn't your fault Ian." That was the only thing Victor could think of to say.

"He followed me, he did what I asked him, and that's why he's gone." Ian shook his head desperately.

"No, he's gone because the stair was to old, because those things happen Ian, its nobody's fault. No one could have stopped it from happening, not Shaw, not your parents. And when it comes to Shaw, you could not have stopped it Ian. He would not have let you, every time he stepped in front of you he knew what he was risking, he knew it, and he did it willingly."

"He should not have, he should have been here." Ian's throat was choked, and he was as close to crying as he would ever be.

"Ian, he would never have been able to go on without you." Victor said softly. This was something they had all known, all three of them, but they had never told Ian before. "He would have been arrested or killed within a week, he could never have gotten along without you. He's gone, and we all miss him, but if you let that grief destroy you, then what did he die for?"

He felt awful for saying it when he saw Ian cling to Ianna desperately, but it was true. Had Shaw made it and not Ian, then it would only have been one or two weeks before Shaw had gotten himself killed in some way, for he truly could not cope without Ian.

"Sadusky's an ass, Ian. He thinks he's better than everyone else, like those bloody Sheriff's that hid behind their tin star and did not care a whit what happened to people. Your better than that, so you show him that, do what Shaw would have wanted you to do."

Ian nodded slowly. "Not now." He whispered. He could not have done it now, his grip on his emotions was to fragile.

"Not right now." Victor nodded slowly. "Ianna's sleeping, go and put her to bed Ian."

Ianna gave her honorary uncle a questioning look, as if she wanted to know why he was lying when she was so clearly awake, but she did not call him on the lie. Instead she yawned softly and did her best to comply with the statement. By the time Ian approached the bedroom where he and Charlotte slept she truly was sleeping in his arms.

Victor grinned confidently to the others as Ian had left the room. "He'll be alright." He smiled. "Just needs a moment or so alone."

Ian put Ianna down in the wicker basket that was her bed, then he changed his mind and took her to the bed in stead. Lying her down in the middle of it before taking his shoes off. Curling up beside her on the bed. He would have thought that his brain would be in uproar, but instead it was blank, refused to work.

So curling up with his daughter felt like a really good idea. He was so mentally exhausted that he fell asleep instantly.

Victor and Charlotte went there to make sure he was alright, and spread a blanket over him. He did not even stir in his sleep, one arm protectively around Ianna, and the other used as a pillow. Ianna had her tiny fist clenched around a lock of his hair. Even if Ian's hair was mostly out of reach, she had still managed to reach one lock. Charlotte though it was endearing how Ianna always seemed to be able to find his hair from instinct. She wondered how old Ianna would be before she stopped doing that. Ian might have many years of hair pulling to look forward to.

The funny thing was that she did not think he would mind at all, there was no doubt how much Ian loved his daughter.

Victor closed the bedroom door softly as they left, careful not to wake anyone inside. He turned to Charlotte with a wide grin. "You know, I'm beginning to understand what people men when they say their kids look like sleeping angels. Looks just so cute and cuddly." He smiled fondly with a glance at the door. "Looks so vulnerable its hard to leave."

"Ianna does look like that when she sleeps." Charlotte nodded. "She does not seem to have a worry in the world when she sleeps. And yet you just want to hold her tight to protect her."

"I was talking about Ian." Victor grinned and gave a short chuckle at her confused expression. "Really." He beamed. "When did you ever see him trusting others to keep him safe except when he sleeps?" He looked innocent, but had a wide grin on his face, and his eyes was sparkling mirthfully.

Charlotte shook her head in amusement. "I would argue the point, except for the fact that you are right." She allowed a small laugh to escape her. "Poor Ian, he's always trying to appear so strong and independent, and then as soon as he falls asleep, everyone just want to tuck him into bed and cuddle him."

"Shaw tucked him in alright a couple of times." Victor grinned wickedly. "And I'm not sure he did not cuddle him a time or two as he did it."

"Did he now?" Charlotte asked with a curious look, one that demanded to be told the whole tale. It was hard to picture Ian being cuddled as he was put to bed. Oh, she did that whenever she got the chance. Ian never tried to avoid snuggling close before they went to sleep. He would draw her close, and try to keep her close during the night. Something that woke her up at times, Ian could be quite a restless sleeper.

Several hours later Charlotte put Ianna to sleep in her wicker basket before joining Ian on the bed. In the morning she would give Ian a task that he could handle, she would send him looking for a crib or something. Ianna would soon have grown out of the basket, and they needed something else for her. Since most of the furniture in the castle was intact they should be able to find something for the baby. It was a task perfect for Ian, enough to let him think that he was exploring, but not more so that that he would stay out of trouble while doing so. To be on the safe side she would however send Phil with him. She trusted Phil more to be sensible than any of the other's.

_TBC_

_Please review, the Cricket is hungry……._


	26. Chapter 26

Author's note: This is based on the movie National Treasure, and is to a great deal dedicated to the more than worthy performance of Sean Bean. I enjoyed the movie very much, but I thought that since Ben and Ian often used similar methods to reach the same goal, I did not see one of them as more evil than the other. I also thought that the hints of the friendship we saw between them should be explored more. I began doing that in 'Who Did You Say Stole the Declaration,' this story takes up a short time after that one ended, and is my version of what happened next. I hope you all shall like it.

Big thanks to LadyDeb1970 who have been going over this for me, and helped me with plot and story ideas. Also to Celebrion for being my beta.

Disclaimer: I do not own National Treasure. I just borrowed it because I like Sean Bean as an actor. I will return all characters in good and whole order, completely undamaged, if covered with a slight glue residue from having been put together again. I also swear I will not make any serious attempt at stealing Ian. More than I already have that is…

The name of Thomas McDowell have been stolen from LadyDeb1970, with her kind permission, as well as one or two other details.

/Elenhin

_**The Biggest Treasure**_

26

"Where should we start looking?" Gregor asked. When Ian and Phil had been instructed to go and see if they could find a crib or something for Ianna he had decided to go along with them.

"The nursery." Ian shrugged. "Or a store room for nursery furniture, I think there will be a nursery near the master bedroom. They wanted to keep the children close after all. If not there, then we must try and find the store rooms."

"How do you find one single thing in a place as big as this?" Phil shook his head. "We have no idea where to look."

"We found the treasure." Ian looked at him and raised his eye brows. "That's more than most others did."

"We had clues for that one, you know." Gregor pointed out.

"We have a clue here too." Ian grinned at them. "The nursery. Listen, they used that kind of stuff for generation after generation, they stored them somewhere when they were not in use, you can be sure of that. Now, since there were several families living here at the same time, there will also be more than one crib. For example, there will be one for the servants children, as they will not have been allowed to use the same one. There should be at least a dozen cribs here, but we only have to find one of them."

"And she wanted us to do it because she thought it'd keep you out of trouble" Phil stated, it had been rather obvious to him what her plan had been with it.

Ian nodded. "Yeah, I really thought that she knew me better than that. But she seems to think that your sensible enough to keep me out of trouble."

"Not that good." Phil shook his head with a small smile. "Never seen anyone that good."

"Shaw could if he wanted to." Gregor said thoughtfully. "But most of the time he would help you get into trouble in the first place."

"Always helped me out of it as well." Ian sighed. "And the rest of you were just as good at it. We've been getting ourselves into trouble since we got to know each other. It wouldn't be natural if we didn't get into trouble."

"Do you think she'd buy that explanation?" Gregor asked thoughtfully.

"She'd scold us for that explanation." Ian grinned. "She has a vain hope about keeping us sensible."

"Cant be done." Gregor leered, pushing a door open. They had located the master bedroom and was now trying to find the nursery, opening doors further down the hall, on both sides. Ian had offered to take Ianna along, just to see if the crib fit. Charlotte had however decided that it sounded like a risky idea and preferred to keep her daughter close for the day.

In truth it was more because she wanted to send them away without the added responsibility of the baby. She had a feeling that they would be more carefree on their own.

"She knows that." Ian shrugged. "She's rather smart. She sent the two of us, and then Gregor here as well, after the crib, cause she wants me to talk with you. Both talk and so that some of the 'old' relationship of ours will help me deal with whatever she thinks is bothering me." He smiled softly as it had not been hard to see through that. "She did not think I could do that with Ianna with me."

"Will you let her be right?" Phil gave him a side glance. The next room proved to be something like a nursery, but they could not see any cribs. Only a few toy chests.

"I don't need to be sent on some errand to be able to talks with you guys, if I want to do that I can do it at any time." Ian snorted. "But I'll b the first one to admit that I don't know what to do here. Ben claims that with the castle, and that bloody tablet, the whole bloody treasure falls to me, and its to damn big. Ben wont hear of even shares, and since he's already sitting on parts of the first treasure he seems to be pretty content."

"Wont the government claim it for museums?" Gregor frowned. He still did not understand why they were so ill thought of because they had done a few things of lacking legality. The government stole a lot more, from a lot more people, and they got away with it all the time.

"I'm not greedy, but I really don't want all of this in some museum." Ian shook his head. "I haven't seen one museum that worked in such a way that I would feel good about them having the stuff." He became quiet for a moment, tracing some of pattern in the dust on a chest with a finger.

Neither Gregor nor Phil said anything. During their earlier years Ian had been the one of them who actually enjoyed walking around in museums, despite the fact that his parents had been killed in an accident in the museum where they worked. It did however seem as if his last experience with museums had left him more suspicious about them.

Maybe not suspicious as such, but there was no longer any way for Ian to associate it with anything except unpleasant things.

"Do you know away around that then?" Phil asked, if anyone would know, it would be Ian. He knew all about rules and how to get around them.

"I might, but it would force me to pay one hell of a tax." Ian gave them a small grin. "If I claimed it my property, they would place a tax on it so high that they would think me forced to give it up because I could not pay it. Since there is that bloody tablet acting as a last will, I think they would be forced to use the percentage for heirloom, the same as on this place, there should however be some way to make that work for us."

They looked around in a room where a lot of furniture of various sorts was stacked against the walls. There were chests, and tables, rocking chairs, and eventually a crib. Gregor pulled it forward. An old but sturdy and beautifully carved crib. They grinned at each others as they wiped off some of the dust from it.

"It'll do nicely." Ian smiled. It was dark wood, a rocking cradle, and it would suit his daughter perfectly.

"She'll like it." Phil nodded. He and Gregor took hold of it at the opposite ends. Since it was a rocking cradle it was easy to carry, and actually not very heavy at all.

"Probably should scrub it out thought." Gregor suggested. "Cant be sure the rats have not been in it."

"I'll go and see if I can find a wash sponge or something. There has to be a broom cupboard or something here." Leaving the two of them to carry it back he went in search of cleaning supplies. He did find a broom cupboard, and in it was a supply of rags and torn sheets, now used for cleaning. He took one and a bucket, brining it to the kitchen to get some water.

Water pipes had been drawn into the castle, but only to kitchens and bathrooms, no one had bothered to draw water to broom cupboards, just to make it more convenient to get water for cleaning. He rather preferred it that way, it would be a shame to ruin the castle with pipe lines.

When he returned Phil and Gregor has placed the cradle at the foot of the bed. Phil taking the bucket and the rag from him. "Try and find some linens." He suggested. So Ian took of again. He had a vague idea where he could find some, the set of rooms where his aunt had lived should have something like it.

He had not been there yet, it would be eerie to be there without her, he was not easily spooked, and he was not spooked now. He just preferred to remember those rooms like they were when she was living in them. In an large wardrobe with three doors he found that one of the sections actually held linen sheets. It was all to big, made for regularly beds, but he doubted that Ianna would care, and the sheets would serve well in the crib instead of a mattress.

He brought them back and they folded a few sheets at the bottom of the crib, leaving a corner to fold up as a cover.

"She'll love it." Phil stated with a grin. "Looks comfortable."

"She does not seem to be picky." Ian smiled. "Thought Charlotte might have something to say about it." He frowned. "I don't get that, she feed her the most horrible baby food possible, and then she claims that you need to get the bed just right. She sleeps everywhere, but to feed her that stuff's just evil."

"Aw, come on Ian, admit it, its not that bad." Gregor noted with a small and slightly nervous smile.

"I just don't get the difference." Ian shrugged. "She gets a little overbearing at times with those things."

Phil gave Charlotte a grin and a shrug, telling her that she should not take it to seriously. Ian, who stood with his back to the door still had no idea that she was standing in the doorway.

"Ian." Gregor's voice was near a plea. At the moment Charlotte was smiling, but how long would she be smiling if Ian said the wrong thing? Charlotte was capable of quite a temper. She was more hot tempered than Ian, thought Ian was more dangerous when he was angry. He was more calm and calculating in his anger.

Now Charlotte shook her head and left again. Gregor heaved a sigh of relief as he watched her go.

Ian gave him a strange look out of the corner of his eye, as if wondering what was going on now.

"You know that can be dangerous." Gregor claimed, still a slight bit nervous. Who knew if Charlotte was till within earshot.

"Gregor." Ian fixed him with a stare, and crossed his arms across his chest. Making it very clear that if he was not informed about what was going on within the next few seconds, Gregor would be in trouble.

Gregor swallowed.

"If you had looked, you wouldn't believe who you would have seen standing in the door." Phil said with an amused grin. "Your losing your touch Ian, if you don't notice when someone's behind you.

"Aw, bugger." Ian groaned, covering his face briefly with one hand. Then he allowed the hand to drop and glared at Gregor. "You bloody well could have warned me."

"You weren't listening to any warnings." Gregor objected. "Anyway, she did not seem to be angry."

"No, she'll take her revenge some other way." Ian groaned and rubbed a hand over his face again, then pushed his hair back. "She'll take her revenge enough, you can be sure about that."

"How can you be so sure about that?" Phil frowned. "She knows you did not mean anything."

Ian sighed. "That's not the point Phil. It doesn't matter if I meant anything or not. The point is that she wants to prove her point."

"That does not make sense you know." Gregor gave him a strange look, Ian usually made a lot more sense than this when he was talking.

Ian shook her head. "She's a woman Gregor. Women don't make sense. Not that way. She'll want to put me in my place, trust me."

"Didn't know you were such an expert on them." Phil teased with a grin.

"There is nothing like an expert on women." Ian explained tiredly. "All you can do is try and learn from past mistakes. I have not yet met one that would let a thing like that pass. They want to make sure you know your place, and Charlotte will do it."

Outside in the corridor Charlotte grinned, she was not one to listen during normal circumstances, but the distress in Ian's voice had overpowered her. She had in truth not thought much about what he said, it was only logical that Ian would speak of her in annoyance a time or two, after all she did the same thing. Mostly when he did not take good enough care of himself.

It made sense that he thought that she was overprotective when he himself never saw his own best. As long as she could stop him from the more reckless things, he could grumble about it all he wanted. Of course she could not let his later comment pass thought. Not when he so clearly stated that she would take her revenge, and she would do it the best way. She would do nothing, and let him worry about what was to come, which he no doubt would.

He would be waiting for something that would never happen, and it would make him doubt that it was possible to learn from past mistakes. It was however refreshing to know that he was one man who did not think himself expert on women. She absolutely hated it when someone thought that he knew all about females, at least he had gotten that right, he never would know all there was to know.

Ian brought Ianna with him outside, he needed to think. Charlotte was not one to be furious with you for saying one thing, and if she was furious, you noticed. She was hot tempered enough that she let you know of it the moment you had said something wrong, but she was more than enough capable of teaching you a lesson if she thought you needed it, and that was something that he would rather avoid.

If it had been any of the lads he would have been tackled to the ground, tackled, or become the subject of some prank, and that would have been the end of it. It would have been over swiftly, an hour at the most, if nothing had happened then, nothing was going to happen, and you knew that.

There had been the bucket of water over the door post when Gregor had insulted Phil, and there had been the a water splash war in the kitchen. Water balloons in the face as you left the house, jackets with knots tied on the sleeves, and those had made clear that there were boy scouts in the gang. Especially the time all the shoes had been tied together by the shoelaces. Once you had gotten past those, you knew that you were safe.

Even thought that one bottle of hot sauce in the scrambled eggs had been very interesting, It was Shaw who did it, and the rest of them was fighting each others for the kitchen tap.

It was not as simple as that with Charlotte, he had decided to apologise first of, but then he could not find her. So instead he took Ianna outside. He had wanted to go down to the creek and the small pool there anyway. He recalled it very well form when he was child.

It was smaller than he remembered thought, or it was because it had seemed bigger then. There was however still frogs jumping around, and small lizards running into cover in under the rocks.

Ianna laughed as a small brown speckled lizard ran past her where she was sitting on the ground. She could sit on her own now, and Ian was so proud of her. He caught the lizard, and cupping it in his hand held it closer to her.

She was to small to play with it, if she tried she would most likely crush it, but she was not to small to look at it. She laughed happily and reached out her hands after the tiny creature. Ian laughed at her as she seemed to be so thrilled by something like a lizard. Then he set the animal back on the ground, it probably had a nice girl lizard waiting for it in its hole. A gorgeous looking she-la, as the crocodile hunter guy on the discovery channel would have said.

To his astonishment Ianna started to crawl after the lizard, he had seen her crawl before, but not as fast and confident as that, and so he just sat and gaped at her. She was however most definitely following it as it skittered over the rocks.

Absently he wondered what it would say about the baby. _'It followed me home, may I keep it?'_ Somehow he doubted the other lizard would appreciate that. Yet if she thought that the lizard was a good reason to learn crawling for, he was not about to stop her, at least as long as she did not get to close to the water. He hoped she would not see a fish and start following that instead. That would mean trouble for sure.

He scoped her up when she got to far away, she was fast considering that she was doing this for the first time.

"Have you been practicing when I wasn't looking?" He frowned at her, holding her up and fixing her with a mock stern glare.

She responded with a tug at his hair, so he supposed that it was a silly question.

"Just bragging with your inept skill then." He winced. "You've been working out thought, your getting to strong to be allowed to do that for much longer now."

Ianna laughed, and Ian took it to mean that there was no way to stop her. He supposed that there were not. He was in her power.

Gregor sighed as Ian glanced over his shoulder, he had been a bit more nervous than usual after Charlotte had overheard him. He really was excepting some kind of reproach, and thus far none had come. Combined with the effort Ian was putting to sort out the treasure, Gregor thought it was beginning to wear him down.

Abigail was communicating with some of her earlier co-workers, but there was a ton of paperwork to deal with for every single small detail. They needed to know exactly what was there, how many items, and what kind of items.

Ben and Ian was practically living down there trying to write everything into a computer. Ian having more experience with that sort of work, but Ben had a better mentality for it. Ian grew frustrated after a while. He was not one to enjoy being cooped up for to long at a stretch. It was what made him more nervous as well.

Spending all the time writing statues and vases into a computer was grating on his nerves.

"Why don't you take a brake?" Gregor suspected. "Think Ianna's missing you, she keeps trying to crawl down here as soon as she thinks nobody's watching."

Ianna had discovered how fun crawling were, and now she did not want to remain in one place for more than a few seconds. They were considering a play pen for her. Ian was mostly reluctant because he feared he would not like to see his daughter behind bars. It might only be the bars of a play pen, but once you had seen the bars of a prison cell from the wrong side, you developed a loathing to see anything through them.

Even if it should be his daughter at play.

"We need to finish this." He told Gregor.

"Yeah and you need a brake from it, so there." Gregor glared at him. "Your going away for a few hours, and its not open for debate."

"Mutiny." Ian glared at him.

"If you want it to be like that." Suddenly Gregor stopped glaring and grinned instead. He knew this, the weight of the treasure was to heavy for Ian to shoulder, it was to much responsibility, and it wore him down fast. To his surprise Ben seemed to understand it, he was beginning to understand the position Ian was in with the treasure, and he was trying to help.

Gregor grinned, for when Ian argued with expressions like 'mutiny,' it meant that he was coming around to see sense, he just wanted to argue about it for a bit. A battle of wits, not to mention insults.

Gregor would be the first one to admit that there had not been enough of those battles lately. Most likely because the number one contestant, Shaw, was no longer around to do it.

"Just be glad that we don't keel haul you." He bit back. "That's what you did when you committed mutiny."

"That was how you punished sailors." Ian objected. "The Captains were mostly made to walk the plank."

"Well, how do you know that wasn't how you got them into the water for the keel hauling?" Gregor demanded.

"You don't have a two for one with punishments." Ian stated firmly.

Off in the corner Ben chuckled, it was really amusing to hear the two of them at it.

"You sure your not going to flog them while they stand on the plank?" Ian demanded.

"And then make them jump into saltwater?" Gregor demanded sounding utterly shocked. "Do you have any idea how much that would sting?"

"Gregor, do you have any idea how all the stuff that's stuck on the hull rips your back open, I doubt it matters if you're flogged before that, its going to sting like the devil anyway." Ian told him.

"Then you might as well spare the whip." Gregor grinned. "So you don't wear it out I mean."

Ian groaned. "You could flog hundreds of men and not wear it out."

"I still don't get why you're so obsessed with flogging them." Gregor shook his head. "Isn't it enough that you're going to make them walk the plank and keel haul them to start with."

"That was you." Ian glared at Gregor, and jabbed a finger at him.

"Was not, you were the one that was all for keel hauling, walking the plank and flogging them." Gregor sounded insulted that anyone would think such a thing about him. "You're a blood thirsty bastard Ian."

"I'll show you just how bloodthirsty I can be." Ian claimed clenching his fist.

"If you do that Charlotte's gonna make you walk the plank." Gregor challenged.

"If you tell her I did it I'm gonna hang you from the rigging." Ian threatened.

"You don't have a rigging." Gregor chuckled. "And why are you so obsessed with those navy punishment anyway. Can't be healthy Ian."

Over in his corner Ben was having trouble not laughing out loud. It was hilarious to see this display of affection, for if it was not Ian would surely have struck by now. He was standing with his hands clenched into fists, his green eyes was nearly shooting sparks with anger. At least the classical romantic novel description of that event seemed to fit. He was definitely glaring at Gregor, who did not even appear to notice.

"You're the one wont let it go, you bloody bastard." Ian spat angrily. He was angry, and it was a proof of how it had been wearing him down. Gregor just kept grinning, it was a perfect way to get him vent some of the frustration. The worst that could happen was that Ian threw a punch at him, and he could handle that should it happen.

"Says the one who's just threatened to hang me from the rigging." Gregor sniffed. "You're getting obsessed Ian, and you cant deny it. Not the way you were talking about flogging before." He tilted his head sideways. "How long have you've been suffering those delusions that your Lt Hornblower."

"If you don't cut that stuff out you are gonna know just what kind of delusions I have." Ian's eyes narrowed in anger as he glared at Gregor. He was getting close to the point where he would strike, and Gregor was feeling very proud of himself. All he needed was to vent some of the frustration that was building up inside him, and it was so fun to make him do it.

"I already know that. You're talking like your in the Britannic Navy, Napoleon Regime. I'm getting really worried about you here Ian, next thing I know you'll be ordering us to fire a broad side when the tax collector comes, and try to flog Victor." He grinned again. "Now just come with me and I'll take care of you. Everything's gonna be fine Mr Hornblower." He spoke the last sentence in a soft cooing voice, as if he was urging along a child.

"I'll bloody fire a broadside at you!" Ian exclaimed.

Gregor laughed and turned to run back out of the cellar. Running through the cellar with Ian on his heels. He was usually a tad faster then Ian, and he had the edge now being in slightly better shape. He kept his lead all the way out of the cellar and out of the castle. Not allowing Ian to catch up with him until he was approaching the creek and the pool.

He slowed down enough then that Ian caught up with him, laughing when the other man was glaring at him. Ian was panting slightly, but he was still glaring as angrily as ever at him.

"You gonna flog me now?" He demanded laughingly as Ian was struggling to wrestle him to the ground. Ian had clearly lost some of his strength during the time he was suffering the depression, and more recently when his arm was broken. Ian was usually stronger and better at this, but on the other hand, it gave Gregor the upper hand, and he did not mind that. He was able to drag Ian over to the pool, and deposit him into it. It was to shallow to throw him into it, he did not want Ian to strike the rocks, but he could definitely drag him out into it. It really made no difference, he got just as wet either way.

After the hard run, it was quite refreshing as well. Not that Ian gave up, it was a really interesting wrestling match, even more so because it was taking place in shallow water.

Ian might be furious at first, but as soon as they were both rolling around in the pool he was laughing more than he was glaring. Thought he was still cursing as much as ever, but that was to be expected.

"First you claim that you aren't obsessed with the navy, next minute your dragging me into a bloody lake to fight." Gregor laughed. "You really think you are Hornblower, don't you." '

"If I were you'd be flogged for striking an officer." Ian growled, but smiling as he did it.

"Nah, you're no officer, we just let you think that you're in charge." Gregor laughed as he dragged himself out of the pool. "Come on now, if the ones that really in charge here finds out I gave you a bath, she'll do worse than keel hauling to me."

"Charlotte would do that yes." Ian agreed, following Gregor, they were both soaking wet and dripping. There was no real doubt whatever Charlotte would find out, she would not miss two sets of dripping clothing hanging to dry.

"When she finds out you jumped in fully clothed, she's gonna find out just exactly what kind of nut case you are." Gregor grinned. "And she wont like it more because you dragged me into it as well."

"I dragged you into it?" Ian demanded grabbing his sleeve. "How the hell do you figure that?"

"You said you were the leader." Gregor said innocently. "It would have to be you then."

Ian laughed he could not help it, Gregor could be such a clown when he wanted to. He might not have the prettiest face, but he had a certain charm, and he knew how to use it when he wanted to. Gregor would be able to win the heart of any women he wanted just by that bizarre humour of his.

Victor won them over by sheer loyalty, and Phil was not bad looking at all. Neither of them ever had seemed very interested in getting a women thought. They had been firm bachelors all of them. Ian had always thought he would remain a bachelor, it was just that Charlotte had not agreed. He did not think anyone could disagree with her about those things. Even Shaw would have thought twice about it before trying to argue something with her.

They had been the ever faithful bachelor band, and even if he was a father now, they still mostly remained that way. Charlotte never interfered with that part of it, and at times she quite reminded of a bachelor herself. She had accepted the fact that the gang would not split up, when this was over and they settled down in some house somewhere, it would be all of them.

Ian could not imagine being without them, and they would not agree to being on their own either. They had missed each others badly during the time they were separated.

"Now, soon as you get some dry clothes on your going with me." Gregor stated firmly. "We'll find Victor and Phil, and if you as much as think about that bloody treasure, we'll figure out something to do with you."

"I need to figure out what to do about it." Ian sighed. "Ben says its up to me, since they got the first treasure, and any moment now the papers will find out about it."

Gregor glared at him, a threatening glare that spoke of physical punishment that would be coming around in a moment.

"Will you just forget about that for a moment?" He demanded. "Ignore it, we did not find all that junk for you to wear yourself out over it. Just drop it for a moment Ian."

Ian nodded, he would try. They were still dripping even as they went inside, leaving wet tracks on the floor. Not that it mattered much, and Ian went into the bedroom to change. He hoped that he would be able to change and get away before Charlotte found out that he had been walking around soaking wet.

Of course, he was fairly certain that he would not stand a chance to succeed with that. Sure enough, she was in the room, putting Ianna to bed. Now she frowned at him. Ian thought that she at least approved of the crib they had found.

"Ian?" She said slowly as she looked at him.

He gave her a sheepish grin. "It was raining." He tried hopefully.

Charlotte just cast a glance out the window a the clear sky and shining sun and shook her head. "What have you been up to?" She demanded.

"It was not me." He defended himself. "It was Gregor's fault."

"Ian, what have you done." She fixed him with a firm stare and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Gregor was being mean." He said with a slight pout. "He was being really mean, and then he dragged me into that pool in the creek."

Charlotte sighed, it was typical of those men. "With your clothes on?" She shook her head.

Ian grinned as he searched out a dry change of clothes. "You should have seen me there when I was a kid then. I got all sooty from climbing in the chimney, and when I was to clean of I just jumped into that pool, it was more effective than anything else."

"It's also insane." Charlotte pointed out. "Very insane Ian, and now?"

"T'was me Charlotte, not him." Gregor grinned in the doorway. He had changed already, and had decided to save Ian when he heard Charlotte's voice. "You cant blame us for fooling around a bit."

Charlotte gave him a look that said she could, and would, if she wanted to.

Ian was just happy to escape the scolding and hurried to change, Charlotte normally did not say much about their fooling around, but he had a feeling he was not exactly in her favour at the moment. To his surprise he heard her laugh as he pulled a dry a sweeter over his head.

"I never could stop you." She said smiling. "Just don't let him do anything to stupid Gregor."

"I won't." Gregor smiled innocently, as if it had not been he who was responsible before. "But I am gonna haul him away from here before this place drives him insane. I'll keep an eye on him thought."

"Make sure you do." She left the room, stopping to give Ian a peck of a kiss on the cheek as she passed him. "Have fun." She smiled at him.

TBC, Please review the Cricket is hungry…..


	27. Chapter 27

Author's note: This is based on the movie National Treasure, and is to a great deal dedicated to the more than worthy performance of Sean Bean. I enjoyed the movie very much, but I thought that since Ben and Ian often used similar methods to reach the same goal, I did not see one of them as more evil than the other. I also thought that the hints of the friendship we saw between them should be explored more. I began doing that in 'Who Did You Say Stole the Declaration,' this story takes up a short time after that one ended, and is my version of what happened next. I hope you all shall like it.

Big thanks to LadyDeb1970 who have been going over this for me, and helped me with plot and story ideas. Also to Celebrion for being my beta.

Disclaimer: I do not own National Treasure. I just borrowed it because I like Sean Bean as an actor. I will return all characters in good and whole order, completely undamaged, if covered with a slight glue residue from having been put together again. I also swear I will not make any serious attempt at stealing Ian. More than I already have that is…

The name of Thomas McDowell have been stolen from LadyDeb1970, with her kind permission, as well as one or two other details.

/Elenhin

_**The Biggest Treasure**_

27

That was it, the story was in the news paper, and on the news channels. It was all over the place.

Ben had not wanted any part of this treasure, and even Riley with all his wining that they should have accepted a bigger percentage did not want any more of it. They did however agree to a small percentage, after Ian negotiated with Ben about it.

Ben could also very well understand why Ian did not have any greater trust for the museums. The treasure was to be split up, and would be sent to several different museums around the world, but Ian, and Ben, was allowed a say in who got it.

Some, or rather a lot of people still mistrusted Ian. At the beginning it was only a few odd ones that did not ask if he had kidnapped Ben and his company, as well as demanded to know why he was not in jail after having stolen the treasure.

There had been accusations that he had broken into the castle, and there had been those who claimed they had reliable information about his crimes during the hunt. They said nothing about Ianna, they did not want the reporters to go after their daughter, it was better that they did not know anything about her then.

Most of the time they had handled it, and a few of those people had even rethought their opinion of Ian, not many, but a few. Mostly what had tipped the odds in his favour was the fact that those people Ian dealt with had developed a respect for him. Ian knew what he was talking about, and quite a lot of them realised that.

It also had to do with the stone tablet, it turned out to be valid, as Ben had said it would. Once it was tested and confirmed to be genuine, it was impossible to keep Ian away from it as one or two official personal wanted to do.

The papers were a nuisance, but they were also willing to print both sides. If the government tried to cut Ian out of the deal, there would be a riot and they knew it. Once Ian declared that the castle would be used to serve as a museum for the treasure and the Knights of the Templar, there was even less they could do.

One part of the castle would be adapted to the use as museum, while the rest would be kept as it was. Most of the treasure would remain where it was, even in the great treasure room. Not everything would be kept there, but some items would.

Ian arranged it, and Ben marvelled over how easily he did it. It was supposed to be the work of years for someone like him to set it up, but the treasure museum would open to the public within six months.

There had only been one major problem, a lot of the treasure would be shipped out to several museums, and with Ben and Abigail's help Ian made sure that no one who had parts of the original treasure got a part of this one. Instead it was shipped to those who had been left. With one exception, a few items was traded for the goblet that had held the first clue.

They all thought that the goblet should be with the rest of the treasure.

Some museums sent representatives to meet with them, all of them excepting to be dealing with Ben Gates and Abigail Chase. Quite a few of them had been to shocked to speak once they had discovered that they would be dealing with Ian instead.

Ben and Abigail was with him, mostly to reassure the people who could not look away from what they had heard before, and Ben had feared that it would wear Ian down again. Ian proved to be stronger than they though. Dealing with them without a problem.

Something that Ben found very interesting was how not very many of the recognized him. His picture had after all been in so many papers, and yet no one recognized him. He stood there, baggy sweeter and long haired pushed back by the hand he would rake through it occasionally, and there was an air about him that they clearly did not expect by someone called a villain.

The problem arose during a meeting with some of those men, one of them claimed the right to a large share of the treasure.

Ben thought that those men was rather rude, they placed the demand in a tone he rather did not care for.

"We base our decision on different things than demands that weigh heavily in volume, but little in the amount of visitors and such things." Ian said slowly. "I don't see why we should assign you more than we would assign any other, and I might add others that would profit more, as well as serve the public more."

The representative from the museum pulled himself up like a peacock, and wasn't near a fraction as pretty as one to look at. "This castle was once property of a family called the McDowell's." He declared.

Ian's eyes narrowed, he did not like the tone of this man, he did not care for it at all. To think that the man saw a need to lecture him on the origin of the castle, was at the least insulting.

Ben sitting beside him swallowed, he was not sure what was happening, but he did not think it was good at all.

"Since two members of that same family was once employed at our museum, we have a certain right to the find that was here." The man declared.

Ben groaned as he realised what was happening, and he hoped that Ian did not kill the man. If he did there would be no way to save him from prison.

Ian however was keeping his calm. "You mean the two employees that were killed in an unfortunate accident. The one that would not have happened if they had followed their instructions instead of improvising." There was no sign of any real anger in his voice, but Ben noted how thick the English accent was.

"The accident was evaluated, and we were cleared." The man claimed, looking just a tad nervous, and Ben thought that he very well should be.

"Aye, I know, I know very well, because of that evaluating there was hardly enough money to give them a decent burial." Ian said coldly. "But we both know that if it had not been for neglect, that unfortunate accident would never have happened." He was calm, he felt detached. As if only a the smallest part of himself was in the room, and the rest of him where somewhere else watching. "Don't talk to me about that, don't demand any rights to anything from me, that was my parents that died there. And it gives you no bloody right at all to anything."

"It was an accident." The man swallowed. "And, and they cant have been your parents, your not named McDowell, your named Howe."

Ben was furious, he felt like strangling the man himself. It was only Ian's calm appearance that held him back.

"My name is Howe now, but I am the bloody brat as I was called when I was there while my parents worked, worked and died. And you have nothing to do here. I have not forgotten what really happened then."

Finally the man backed off, and Ben had no words to express how he loathed him. He felt like following him, and he felt for the first time that he could really harm another human being.

Ian was standing still now, right arm pressed to his belly, and the left hand running through his hair over and over again. Trembling slightly and looking hurt, Ben bit his lip as he saw the pain in his eyes. He did not know how to deal with this.

It was another demon that had come back to haunt Ian, the death of his parents, something that Ben had come to know weighed very heavy on the slightly younger man.

"The equipment was neglected." Ian said. His voice was choked, and his accent was still so think it was hard to hear what he said. "It would never have happened if the equipment had been cared for properly. I should never have happened."

Ben shifted nervously, trying to decide what to do. If he should get Charlotte, or another one of his men.

Then Ian rubbed a hand over his face, pushed his hair back one last time, and when Ben looked at him his eyes was clear.

"Okay, one more meeting, wasn't it?" He asked.

He had faced down his last demon, his parents deaths had been tragic and devastating for him, it still was every bit as painful to think about, but it had not been his fault.

It had not been his fault, not a punishment for what he would come to do after the accident.

It was not because of him.

Epilogue

"Ianna, come back here. You know you're not supposed to touch that." Ian called after his daughter. The child of one year and a half was full of energy and always running around.

"What did your mother say about behaving yourself?" He asked. The castle with the treasure museum was popular, it had been open to visitors for quite some time now, and had been running smoothly. Ianna was thrilled to be there, and keeping an eye on her proved to be more difficult than ever. Charlotte had allowed the boys to watch her over the day.

They were mostly watching her, as Charlotte was a few months pregnant, she claimed that Ian's reaction to the news had been as interesting as when she told him about Ianna.

"Must behave better than daddy." Ianna replied cheerfully to her father's question.

Ian glared at Victor who laughed behind him, and Ianna giggled happily.

They had bough one house in the states, but they went back to the castle every so often. Ian loved it there, but living in the castle during the biggest tourism seasons was not fun. Most of the times the tours came just to close to going through their living room. Not to mention the fact that there was no privacy to be had in the garden, or anywhere near it.

They would be going back the next month, and then they would see more of Ben, Abigail and Riley. For now Ian was trying to keep Ianna in check in the museum part of the castle. She loved to go there, and would beg them to take her there every day.

He loved it as well, and was hardly ever hard to convince, seeing Ianna run around in there, darting between pillars and statues, made him sure of one thing. There was nothing there, no amount of gold, silver or sparkling glittering stones, that could ever compare to her.

They had been so right, his aunt with the clue, and the family McDowell's.

He smiled as Ianna came over to pull on his hand, and scooped her up. Grinned as she gave a tug on his hair to get his attention and show him where she wanted to go. She knew how to get his attention, and she always giggled as he winced at the tug.

Oh yes, he would agree with them anytime.

Your family was the biggest treasure of all.

The End.

_Please review, the Cricket is hungry…_


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